


You're as Lovely as Your Name

by sammys_lover



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ballroom Dancing, Character Death, Cinderella - Freeform, Cinderella Elements, Complete, Cute, Dancing, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Violence, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Glass Slippers (Cinderella), Happy Ending, Holding Hands, I cried while writing this, Kissing, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Pining, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Supportive shark boyfriend, Supportive shark husband, This is literally is Cinderella, True Love, Violence, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, What can I say? I'm a sucker for a happy ending, romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21530884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sammys_lover/pseuds/sammys_lover
Summary: A young human girl is treated horribly by her wicked stepmother and horrid stepsisters.What happens when this kind young lady is invited to a ball, held by the king of the Zora?
Relationships: Prince Sidon/Reader
Comments: 33
Kudos: 210





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in celebration of my five year anniversary! As of today, I'll have been writing and publishing my fics online for five. whole. years. (That's nuts!!!)
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's read my stuff. To everyone who has left kudos, commented, or bookmarked -- thank you.
> 
> And a huge thank you to everybody in the bunker for reading my fics and being such wonderful friends!
> 
> Here's to another five years of fanfiction!

Once upon a time, there was a young human girl who lived in a small village in a land called Hyrule. 

She was a beautiful young woman with a singing voice of a siren and a heart of gold. She may not have been perfect, but she was absolutely wonderful. At least, the birds, mice, koroks, and squirrels thought so. 

Growing up in kakariko village, she had a nice childhood. She hadn’t grown up in the richest of homes, but she didn’t mind. It had simply been her and her father for the longest time. When her father remarried and brought two other young girls into the house, the human girl tried to create friendships and bond with her Hylian sisters. But her human status was enough for them to tease her to no end. Her father was the only person who seemed to love her at all. Until his untimely passing, that is. 

One day, he’d fallen ill after a nearly fatal injury. An octorock her shot at him, and before he had time to defend himself, he was thrown against the wall of a mountain, where a sharp rock had impaled him. 

He fought as hard as he could, only living for another 24 hours. 

But on his deathbed, he held his daughter’s hand, and asked her to find joy and keep it in her heart. 

“My dear Y/n... my sweet girl. Please do not be consumed by your grief for me.” He wiped away her tears as she listened to him. “I’m going to tell you what your mother t-told me...” He coughs lightly. “I want you to remember me. How much I love you. I want you to keep happiness and joy by your side. My spirit will watch over you from above.” He reaches under the collar of his shirt, pulling out a necklace. He pulls it from around his neck and hands it to his only child. “This was your mother’s. Keep it with you... always. It is a shard of a shooting star. Your mother and I had followed the same fallen star on the same night, and it was only when as both reached the top of the mountain it had landed on that we met one another. She was as beautiful in the starlight as she had been the day I'd lost her...” He laughs lightly, looking at his child with nothing but all the joy he could muster. 

“Keep hope in your heart. Because it is in the darkest of times that you will find the greatest light you will ever encounter.” 

He wipes away another tear. 

“Now... papa must rest, my dear. I love you.” 

The girl had left him to sleep after placing a final kiss to his cheek, which he returned. 

He had died in the dead of night that very day. 

So the girl had followed her father’s final wish and kept hope in her heart. She didn’t want others to suffer, so she tried to bring happiness to everyone she met. 

She had grown under the care of her stepmother, who, after her father’s passing, had become wicked and cruel. Y/n’s stepsisters were no kinder to her at all, and soon, she was nothing more than a maid and servant to her “family.” 

Little did she know that every prayer she’s sent every night since her father’s passing were to be answered. She prayed every night for a bright light to find her one day and bring her happiness like she had known when she was younger. 

And the light would find her yet. 

Which brings us to where she is today. 

*** 

You’re snuggled up warm in bed when a quiet, sweet chime is played outside your window. 

You groan, sitting up and stretching your arms in bed, brushing your messy hair out of your face. The quiet tune continues until you stand, shuffling over to the window and opening it with ease, letting the few birds that had woken you rest on the windowsill. 

“G’morning guys.” 

You offer them a soft smile and they happily chirp and get comfortable in turn. These three birds have done this for you every morning at five AM ever since they could fly. You’d found their fallen nest when they were just babies and raised them yourself. They’ve never forgotten that. 

You look around your room, holding the shard of fallen star that hangs around your neck with a smile on your face. You don’t know why, but you feel like today’s going to be different. Maybe today is the day that Hylia will answer your prayers! 

But you know that, realistically, you can’t stand around dreaming all day long. You quickly dress in your usual clothes, a simple tan dress, and an old tattered apron, before pinning your hair up and out of the way and quietly heading out your bedroom door. Though, you really can’t call it much of a bedroom. You sleep in the attic on an old mattress. 

You bid your birds a good morning and tell them that you’ll meet them at the cuccos before shutting the door and hurrying as quietly as you can down the stairs and out the front door. 

“Good morning, Y/n!” 

You wave to the passing guard as you walk over to the cooking pot that resides on the side of your home, grabbing a few apples and some goat butter from the kitchen’s windowsill and tossing them in. You also mix a bit of sugarcane as well. Just for good measure. You know you have to get your stepmother’s and sister’s food finished before they wake. Otherwise, there will be hell to pay. You roll your eyes as you think about it. All this fuss just because you’re human... 

While the hot buttered apples cook, you head off to put their morning tea on the stove inside, careful not to make the dog as you go, grabbing the bag of cucco feed as you head outside to care for them. 

You find- the...hero of Hyrule. Asleep in the garden. 

You jolt, rushing over and waking him gently. “Link! Link, come on, get up.” 

He opens his eyes with a groan before shooting up and looking around wildly. He quickly signs with his hands to ask how long he had been out. 

“I don’t know!” You help him to his feet, shooing him away. Thankfully he hadn’t crushed your swift carrots. “I only just found you! Did you wipe yourself out fighting monsters again?” 

You put your hands on your hips as he picks up the bag of cucco feed, tossing it to them from a distance. You’re thankful for his help, and he truly is a good friend, but jeez. He’s gonna get himself killed one of these days. 

He sheepishly rubs the back of his head with one hand as he nods, earning a concerned glare from you. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me, you know that?” 

He smiles, hip checking you as you finish up feeding the cuccos. 

“I know we can’t spare a lot of food, but...” You whistle a quiet tune, and your three birdy friends fly from their perch above to fly before you and link. You nod towards the apple tree that hangs over the side of the cliff, routinely dropping apples for you to use in breakfasts. The birds waste no time flying upwards and grabbing a fresh apple, all three of them working together to carry it carefully down, dropping it right in your hands. 

“Thanks, lock. Thanks, shock. Thanks, Barrel.” 

You whistle another tune, and the three birds fly back up to your bedroom. They routinely make the bed for you (if you forget to do it yourself) and leave you little gifts. Such sweet babies. 

You hand the apple to Link with a pat on the shoulder before picking up the bag of feed, getting ready to lug it back into the house. 

“Be careful today, Link! And don’t forget to drop off milk later tonight if you want that stew!” He smiles at you, handing you a- oh! Hearty truffles! Some hearty truffles from his bag before waving and heading on his way. He stops by often to help the villagers with problems. That, and he’s been helping clean up the mess that calamity Ganon had left behind after Link had saved princess Zelda! 

You smile as you think on it, only realizing that you still had a lot to do when you could smell the dish finishing up in its pot. You quickly rush to set the feed down inside, taking the tea off the stove before it can wake anyone, and then rushing outside with three plates to scoop up breakfast. 

… 

Once you have three servings of hot buttered apples, you quickly get them inside and place them on their respective trays, pouring three cups of tea and setting small dishes of cream to the side. 

Theeeen you hear the ringing of a bell come from upstairs. 

“Y/n!” You sigh as you hear your name drawled out from upstairs. That was Maria, your first stepsister. She’s always the first to wake. 

You grab her tray, getting ready to exit the kitchen when another bell is heard. Aaaand another. 

You groan, squeezing your eyes shut. 

… 

After you’d figured out how to hold all three of the damn trays, you exit the kitchen and head up the staircase. 

The layout of the house wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t tiny, either. You had the main living area when you walked in the front door, the kitchen through the door to the right, a spare room to the left that held chicken feed and gardening tools and had a door that leads to the garden, and the main stairway that leads upstairs sat against the wall to the left. The ladder that leads to your bedroom is in the inner right corner of the spare room. 

You walk upstairs, walking to the left first. Maria’s bedroom door was closed, as they all were, so you had to kick off your shoe and open the door gently with your foot. Which isn’t as hard as you might think. 

“About time...” She groans, not even out of bed yet. What time was it, anyway? Nearly Seven-thirty? 

Maria has dark hair, cut to about shoulder length, and green eyes that are full of nothing but judgment. Her nose is akin to a pig’s and her eyes are a smidge too close together, and you’re not sure you’ve ever seen her smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. Good morning, Maria.” 

She grunts in return as she sits up, not looking up at you as you place the tray on her lap. 

“Draw my blinds.” She drowsily picks up her cup of tea, taking a sip as you painstakingly draw her blinds, shifting out of the room before she can ask you to do anything else. 

You take a deep breath. Just get through today as fast as you can so you can get on with the work you look forward to doing. You walk carefully and quietly down the to the right, over to Abigail’s room, happy you can push the door open with your foot without having to fiddle with the knob too much. 

Abigail merely grumbles, a pillow over her head as you open her blinds before she can demand it. 

“Breakfast, Abigail.” 

She peeks out from under her pillow for that. She waves for you to set the tray down on her bedside table, but it’s so messy that there’s no room. 

“A-” 

“Ughfph,” Abigail spits her hair out of her mouth as she sits up, not even bothering to push the rest of her dirty blonde hair from her face before she picks up her fork, taking the tray from you roughly. 

You nearly drop the last tray, and it takes everything in you to not smack her over the head with it. All that’ll do is get you in trouble. It won’t change a thing. 

Abigail’s grey eyes are partially blocked by her choppy bangs, her crooked nose set between her eyes that are too far apart. Just by a smidge. Her lips are so thin they’re practically nonexistent, and she seems to have a permanent smug look. 

“Get ouuut.” 

She whines at you after the swallows her food, shooing you out of the room. 

“You’re welcome.” 

You narrow your eyes at her, but happily leave anyway. Anything to get away from her faster. 

And finally, you walk to the final room. The grand doors in the center of the hall. Your stepmother’s room. 

You know to knock before entering, and you do, dying to get this over with. Your daily chores seem to get longer and longer every week... if only you could get a break. Maybe have a night off for yourself? 

“Come in.” 

You push open the large, heavy door, and her blinds are only half-drawn. 

“Good morning, stepmother.” 

“Good morning...” 

You place the tray on her lap, and she shoos you away to draw her blinds. The large bed was always draped in shades of greys. As dreary and bland as her eyes and as lifeless as her thinning hair. It made you a bit sad to see, but what could you do? Your father isn’t around to insist on color anymore. 

You sigh as the room is lit, standing at attention at the foot of the bed, awaiting your list of duties for the day. At least, on the bright side, you get to live here. It could be far worse than this, right? 

“What is today?” 

“Today the twenty-third, ma’am.” 

She looks displeased. 

“Hhhmph.” She takes a bite of her apple, and you have to wait for her to finish chewing so she can continue. Come on! She knows you have things to do today! 

“Well, that is very displeasing...” She sips her tea. “Today I want you to sell the produce at the market, wash the front steps, do the laundry, take care of the dishes, and do the fishing downstream before it gets too terribly late.” 

Oh, the lake! How lovely. At least you’ll get to see the Zora you’ve befriended today. If he’s there, that is. 

“That is all. I’m sure I'll think of more, but for now, begone with you.” 

You nod, bowing slightly before taking your leave and making your way down the stairs. 

You sigh, happy your list was so easy to finish up. All you had to worry about on top of that was the dusting, meals, and tending to the garden and cuccos. 

Then, without further ado, you get your day started. 

*** 

You’re able to make quick work of the laundry, dishes (That have popped up so far. There will be more after dinner, you're sure.) dusting, and you’d just finished serving lunch. You’d been able to get away with getting an entire mushroom skewer today, which was more than you usually ate. They normally only leave you scraps. Thankfully, you’re sneaky enough to get away with snagging the occasional baked apple and toasted Hylian mushroom. 

You’d gathered about 10 swift carrots to sell at the village along with two apples you’d gathered behind your home. 

The woman who runs the store, Trissa, has always been fair with her prices. And walking into her shop is always like coming home. She normally even gives you her fabric scraps to patch up your clothes! She’s truly a very kind person. 

You enter the shop with your basket of carrots, waving happily to her. “Good morning, Y/n! You got my carrots, I see.” 

“Good morning, Trissa! And yes, I do, ma’am!” 

You place the basket on the counter, and she counts out the carrots, satisfied. 

“Right! Now, I can give you forty for the carrots, but I can only give you three for the apple.” 

“J-just one? But I-” 

“Other one’s bruised, honey. I’m sorry.” She slides a small bag of 43 rupees across the table to you, and you take it with a smile, placing it in your basket along with the one apple she hadn’t taken. 

“See ya tomorrow, Cinderella!” 

You laugh as you leave the shop, hurrying back up to where your house was, fishing your three rupees out of the bag, leaving the rest. You tuck the three green gems away in one of your apron’s pockets before you enter the front door, leaving the basket and bag of rupees on the table in the living room before shuffling into the spare room to grab a pot lid and your fishing spear. 

You step back outside and quickly make your way down the path that leads away from the village, to the river. 

You wave to a few passing travelers, keeping up your light jog until you reach the hill and get ready to surf down on your pot lid. 

You stretch before you do this, because you’re not as nimble as Link. 

Okay, he taught you how to shield surf. You can do this! Y-you're not gonna do a flip like he does, though. Could break your neck or something. 

You set your shield on the ground and shakily step on, kicking off and surfing down the hill with a laugh and a “Wheeeee!!!” 

Hey, this is pretty fun! You swerve back and forth, running your fingertips over the long grass around you. You’re gonna have to do this more often! 

You spot a curve that would act as a ramp, still laughing slightly about what Trissa had said. Cinderella. Yeah, right. Like your life would end up going anything like that fairytale. 

You’re so wrapped up in your own thoughts that you don’t hear your pot shield splintering until it’s too late. Your shield breaks as you reach the end of the little ramp, shattering everywhere, sending you flying. You’re hurtling and spinning uncontrollably towards the waters below, screaming the whole way down as you flail and try to get your bearings to brace yourself for the waters. 

Your screaming is cut short when you’re not met with water, but rather, two huge arms, holding you snugly. 

“Woah! Careful, little minnow!” 

You breathe a sigh of relief when you realize who had caught you. 

Sidon of the Zora! This guy’s been a good friend to you ever since you had stumbled upon him one fateful rainy day. He had startled you so badly you’d lost all of your fish from that day. Thankfully, he’d been kind enough to assist you in getting all the fish back – and more. And since then, you two had met at the river to talk about your weeks, though he preferred to listen. 

“Sidon!” 

He carries you back to shore setting you down carefully with a laugh. 

“Thank you...” You smooth out your apron as you sit on your knees by the bank, happy your spear hadn’t flown away or impaled anyone. That, and your three rupees were still in your pocket. You get comfortable on the riverbank. After that commotion, all the fish have been spooked off. It’ll be a good moment until they come back. 

“Of course! I’ll always be here to catch you! If I wasn’t, who knows what might happen? And where would I be without my treasured friend?” 

He ruffles your hair, and you giggle as you sway his hand away. 

“Ah... moving along from my near-death experience,” You give a nervous laugh, as you draw a little circle mindlessly in the sand. “How are you?” 

He smiles at you, climbing out of the bank to sit beside you. God, he’s tall. He’s twice your height and then some, and when you’d first met, it was his size alone that had scared you half to death. But now that the two of you are such close friends, you know that you can trust him with anything. 

“I’m quite well, thank you. Though I do have a little thing I’d like to get off my mind, I cannot imagine how your week has gone! Please, you go first.” 

He then gestures for you to speak before holding his hand out for your spear. You hand it to him without hesitation. This has been your routine for a while now. You watch the river; he catches the fish for you. And man, do you appreciate it... your arms are tired from all the work you’d gotten done so far. 

You sigh, shutting your eyes for a moment before focusing on the river. The fading sunlight is warm on your face. 

“Well, Stepmonster’s been loading on the chores...” You point to a fish, and in the blink of an eye, it’s been caught and placed in your fishing pack. “I’ve made two meals, two rounds of tea, gardened, sold the carrots at the market, done the laundry, and the dishes- and that was just today. AND had to listen to Drell and Ana’s singing all week.” 

“Don’t you mean screeching?” 

You laugh and when you turn your head, you get a good look at him. 

His eyes are bright and cheery, but there’s a hint of something else there. There’s a soft smile on his lips, and the sun is falling on his face in such a way that made him look even more handsome, somehow. 

You find yourself turning almost as red as him, your only salvation being when you look away. 

“Uh,” You clear your throat, pointing to another fish. It’s quickly caught. “I-I do mean screeching, but papa would tell me it’s bad karma to say that, you know.” 

Sidon nods, tucking the next fish into the net pack. “I know, my dear human. But it is true. I’ve heard them – yes, I've heard them from here! And they are nothing compared to you.” 

Your face heats up even more. 

Oh boy, here he goes again with the compliment train... he’s always so kind and positive and a complete gentleman, and it’s who he is that made you... kind of, sort of, fall for him a little? It’s not a crush, though! Definitely not a crush! He would never return those feelings, anyway. He’s so tall and smart and handsome, and... 

Oh, and you’re just a human. All these Zora and Hylians and Gorons and Rito and... and you’re just a human. 

You shake yourself from your thoughts, your embarrassment climbing to new highs when you realize that he’s heard you sing before. 

“Wh-when did you- I mean, how-” You point to another fish, and he laughs heartily at your stammering and flustered state. You laugh along with him. 

“I’ve heard you singing to yourself before! Your voice carries all the way to the river! And may I say that the songs I've heard you sing are the most beautiful sounds to ever grace the land? Because they are! You are so very talented!” 

Your cheeks are about as red as he is now, and you’re truly at a loss for words as he hands you another fish. 

You quickly tuck it away, still at a loss for what to say. 

“Ah, I'm terribly sorry, I-I hadn’t meant to-” He clears his throat, his confident grin returning quickly. “Forgive me, you know how I tend to ramble. H-how is your writing going?” 

Oh, right. Your writings – exactly what you’ve been working on for so long! You hope that someday you’ll be able to publish a fictional story about forgotten heroes and villains from long ago. It’s a retelling of when the moon threatened to crash into the earth, and the force behind such a sinister act was a horrifying mask. It’s a work you’ve been writing for years now, and you’re nearly ready to publish it. Once you have enough for the fee, of course. 300 rupees doesn’t come easy. Especially when you’re trying so hard to gather enough to move out of your childhood home... but when all you’re able to get away with are a few rupees every season, things aren’t exactly made easy for you. 

“Th-they’re going okay, actually! I’ve almost finished my final draft! And once that’s done and I have enough for that pesky publishing fee, I’m bringing you the very first copy!” 

He smiles warmly at you, reaching down into the water and pulling out a sneaky river snail, tossing it into your net pack. 

“I thank you very much! I’ve been looking forward to reading your work for such a long time! I’ve even told my people about it! I know it will be great, and I know you’ll be a success. I believe in you, Y/n!” 

Your heart warms at his kind words, and your dear friend is able to tuck two more fish into your pack before the sunset fireflies become visible, signaling the setting of the sun. It must be around dinnertime now. 

“Thank you, Sidon. I- I don’t know what to say aside from that. Thank you.” 

“There’s no need to thank me. You’re such a bright light in Hylia’s time of need, and anything I do is to thank you for being so courageous and kind.” 

You look up at the pink sky with a slight sigh, picking up your pack of fish and slinging it over your back with a smile. 

“Ah, you uh- you're about the only person who leaves me at a loss for words.” The both of you share a laugh, and you look up at him as he stands too. “Well, I’d better get back...” 

He nods once, looking off at the river’s waters. “Yes, I agree. I should get back to the Zora Domain as well. You do know that you are welcome at any time, right?” 

“You’ve mentioned it once or twice.” you nudge him with your shoulder playfully, and he laughs before taking a step towards the river, turning to face you completely. “Same time next week?” 

“Yes, Y/n! I shall see you again soon, my dear human!” 

You begin to walk backwards a few steps, maintaining eye contact. 

“Farewell!” 

He then does the fanciest jump you’ve ever seen into the river, surfacing twenty feet away. 

“Show off!” You tease him with a smile, and he turns to give you a grin and a wink before he’s gone again. For real this time. 

You can’t help but smile to yourself as you make your way back up to Kakariko village, watching the hot-footed frogs run away as you rush back home. These fish will have to be either tomorrow night’s dinner or be sold at the market, and if you hurry home, you’ll have time to put them away and make dinner so you can scrub the steps while it’s still light out! 

You run up the hill in the village, past the fortified pumpkins and your nearby neighbor’s swift carrots, hurrying quietly up the steps of your house and inside, happy to be back in the warmth, at the very least. 

You waste no time stowing away the fish and returning the spear to its rightful home before hurrying to cook dinner, with no help from your stepsisters who were reading the same magazine on the couch, and your stepmother, who hadn’t said a word about all the mud your stepsisters had tracked inside. 

You sigh, grabbing some prime meat and salt before getting straight to work. 

*** 

It’s around seven PM when you finish up, and you’re only met with complaints about dinner being late. You say nothing when you set up the table and announce that the meal is done, happy you were able to get enough meat off of the main course to stow away for yourself. You know you’ll have to eat later, so It’s safely hidden in one of the cabinets for now. 

“Y/n,” Your stepmother begins, sneering up at you where you stand, washing the dishes. “You’ve forgotten about the front steps. You know what ha-” 

“I haven’t forgotten.” You boldly interrupt, setting the last dish over to dry while you gathered up a cleaning cloth and bucket. You don’t say another word before you walk to the living room and get on your hands and knees, scrubbing the floor where your stepsisters had drug mud all along the entryway. 

You can barely clean at all before there’s a brisk knock at the door, followed by a voice. 

“Open on the orders of King Dorephan!” 

You jump slightly, but before you can get up from your knees, you’re beaten to the punch as your two stepsisters scramble to get the door first. They squabble as they pass you, spilling your bucket of soapy water all over the floor, making your mess worse. 

“Move it, won’t you?! I’ll ge-” 

“Oh no, you don’t! I’m getting it! Mo-” 

Maria and Abigail are so busy pushing one another out of the way that they don’t even notice their own mother moving to answer the door herself, a false smile plastered on her face as she opens the door to reveal two Zora. 

“Good evening, ma’am. Are you the lady of the house?” 

“I am. To what do we owe the pleasure?” 

“We are here to seek all eligible young women on behalf of the king. I am the king’s advisor, and- oh, may we?” 

They step into the house the moment your stepmother motions for them to come in, and you struggle to soak up the water that was sure to ruin the floorboards. 

“Pardon the mess, your grace! Our...maid... is so terribly clumsy.” 

The Zora nods, giving you a passing glance as the other watches you finally wring the last of the water out of your rag and into the bucket. Well, at least that’s over. Now you have the dignity to at least stand in the Zora’s presence. 

“It really is no trouble. Anyhow, as I had been saying,” He pauses to gather three scrolls, all tied with red ribbon. “We are to invite every available young lady of the land to the ball being held at the Zora Domain tomorrow evening. Tomorrow,” He moves to hand an invitation to Maria first, only to have it snatched from his hand by Abigail. “The prince of the Zora,” He hands Maria her invitation. “Will choose,” He finally turns to- wait, you? He offers you the invitation with a small smile, and you take it just as gently as he’d held it out. “his bride.” 

The prince? 

Your cheeks flush red and you can’t help the grin that overtakes your face. You offer the Zora a quiet “Thank you,” And a curtsy. He returns it with a polite nod. 

“His royal highness the prince hopes to see you all there.” He takes a step back, motioning for the other Zora to leave before him. 

“Good day, madam. Ladies.” 

And just as soon as he’d walked into the house, he was gone. You were so excited you didn’t even register your stepsisters squealing and screeching like a couple of peacocks. 

You carefully undo the ribbon, placing it in your pocket softly, unfurling the scroll to read. 

You are cordially invited to the Prince’s ball, held at the Zora Domain tomorrow eve. 

This invitation shall grant you access to the domain on the orders of King Dorephan himself. 

May the goddess smile upon you, and shall your attendance be had. 

And below that were the signatures of the royal advisor and king himself, complete with the royal seal. 

Oh, a ball! You’re so excited, you’re not quite sure what to do! You're sure that the prince of the Zora – whoever he may be – is kind enough, but... you’re happy to just have a night to enjoy yourself. Gosh, this will be so amazing! Maybe this is the bright light you’ve been holding out hope for... 

Oh, you can’t wait to go and dance the night away... 

You’re so swept up in your thoughts and hopes for tomorrow night that you don’t register your stepmother approaching you to snatch away your invitation until it’s already done, and your reach to get it back is quickly thwarted as you watch her stow it away in one of her pockets. 

“Oh- oh, no! I have to go, you heard the-” 

“Yes, I heard him! On the orders of king Dorephan...” She sneers at you before she seems to get an idea. “You may go. If!” She quickly adds on as she catches your smile. You do your best to wipe it from your face, despite the pounding in your chest. 

“You finish the cooking. And the mopping. And the gardening, draperies, dishes, windows, and floors. If you are to go, this house must be spotless. And!” She’s interrupted as your stepsisters scramble up the stairs, squealing with excitement as they go. “You must find something decent to wear.” 

You nod quickly, clasping your hands together in excitement. 

“Yes, of course! I-I'll have everything done!” 

“Yes, I’m quite sure. Now go and scrub those steps. It’s bad enough that you hadn’t gotten to them before his grace had landed on our doorstep. See to it that doesn’t happen again.” 

Her tone and eyes threaten to cut you like a knife, but you’re so excited you can’t bring yourself to care. You simply nod and pick up your bucket, happily making your way past her and onto the front step, getting to your knees and scrubbing away. 

A ball! Oh, a ball! This is exactly what you’d been hoping for! A night off. To yourself! Around so many other people and Hylians and Zora and- oh, you just can't wait! 

You look to the sky, which is almost completely dark. You can spot a single star that burns bright in the sky, and you feel your heart soar. 

Tomorrow will be amazing.


	2. Chapter 2

When you finish scrubbing the steps, you look over to discover your friends -- the koroks you’ve discovered. You smile at them as they struggle to lug away the bucket of filthy water, cheerily bounding up the steps to sit on the stoop. 

“Ya-ha-ha! Y/n!!!” 

You smile to your little friends as you stand, leading the two koroks, Jaime and Cherik, to the side of the house where your small window could be seen. 

“Hello, you two! How was your day? And oh- you won’t believe what happened to me today!” 

The tapping on your shoulder almost makes you jump – and you whip around to defend yourself – until you see who it is. 

It’s only Link! He grins as he holds out the bottle of milk he’d promised to bring, and you take it with a smile, beginning to sign you a greeting when you beat him to the punch. 

“Oh, Link!” You usher him and your Korok friends over to the other side of the house where the cooking pot was, accepting the rest of the ingredients that Link offered to complete the stew you’d promised him. “You’ll never believe what happened! I was just about to tell Jaime and Cherik about it!” 

You urge for him to sit down as you get to work preparing the stew, recounting the events and what you had left to worry about. 

... 

By the time you were finished talking, the stew was finished, and you, without thinking, give him a far larger portion than you gave yourself. But you sat with him to eat what you received anyway. 

“And so all I have to do is finish my chores tomorrow and find something to wear!” Your smile falters slightly when you think about it. Where would you find something to wear like that on such short notice...? 

“...Maybe I could throw something together at the last moment! All I have to do is take a look around – I'm sure there’s enough scrap fabric lying around that I can use to make a dress! It-it shouldn’t be that hard. Perhaps I can just sew two aprons back to back for a base and... oh, I’m sorry.” You catch yourself rambling, lost in your thoughts of what’s to come. You note that both you and Link are finished with your bowls of stew, but find yourself still hungry. 

Link wipes his mouth before he signs to you. 

“That sounds amazing, Y/n! I’m sure you’ll have a great time! Are you sure you can finish a dress by then?” 

You nod, watching the Koroks clean up after the cooking, eating any remnants and clearing the table completely, taking yours and Link’s bowls away and setting them down outside the kitchen window. Ah, that’s close enough. You’ll have to remember to grab those before you fall asleep. 

“I’ll think of something, I'm sure...” You smile softly as both you and Link stand, and you pull him in for a hug, holding his shoulders so he has no choice but to look you in the eye. “Be safe tonight, okay, dork?” 

He smiles before he ruffles his hair nervously, looking sheepishly away before nodding. 

You release him, quickly gathering the bowls and watching the Koroks leave you to place themselves underneath your windowsill. 

“See you soon, Link!” 

He waves goodbye with one final “thank you!” for the meal, and then he’s off down the path, probably off to sleep in a stable for the night. 

You happily go inside to find that your “family” had already turned in for the evening, and all the lights were off. You sigh as you go to leave the dishes in the sink and grab your portion of the meat from earlier to take to your room. 

You waste no time entering the spare room and climbing the ladder all the way up to the attic, turning your lights on as you set your food on your desk and move to open the window, calling out a soft “Come on up!” to the Koroks below. 

The flying friends of yours always help the aerodynamically challenged into your room at night, and when all the Koroks you’ve befriended are in your room, there must be about 15 of them. They sleep in the rafters, your dresser drawers, in your pile of scrap fabric – everywhere. They come to stay every night, but they’re always gone when you wake up. 

You empty your three rupees from earlier in the day into the ceramic pot that was tucked in the corner of the room. The lid kept your rupees safe, but it wasn’t like your stepsisters or stepmother ever come this far upstairs anyway. 

You sit at your desk and eat your dinner, thanking the few koroks that had brought you pens and paper to help you come up with a design for your dress. 

“Now, what should we do, everyone? Should I go with the aprons or start all the way from scratch?” 

The Korok’s replies come all at once, and their excited chatter makes you laugh as you watch them model scraps of fabric a few of them had wrapped around themselves, pretending they were ballgowns. 

You eat what little food you have, working on your sketches. 

*** 

Meanwhile, with Link...

***

Link comes to the nearest stable, happy to see that Beedle was heading into it for the night. 

He makes his way down the hill, wondering how he could pull this off. He’s never sewn before, but this young woman has been nothing but kind to him the entire time they’d known one another, never asking for anything in return for the meals she’s made for him. 

He approaches the stable, waving to Beedle as he settles down cross-legged on the floor. 

“Ah! I was just thinking about y-” Beedles eyes go wide as he looks to Link’s shoulder, spotting the bladed rhino beetle that had landed on him. “WOW!” He beams at Link as he sits in front of him, grabbing the beetle off of his shoulder. 

“You have a bladed rhino beetle! Oh, beetle would love to add it to his collection... I’ll trade you this veggie omelet for it!” 

Link looks at the beetle happily walking around on his hand and thinks on it for a moment. He hands it to Beedle, signing a question before he can be handed an omelet. 

“Do you have any fabric?” 

Beedle smiles as he sets the new beetle with its new brothers and sisters, who were eating a mango that beetle had set on the floor. Wordlessly, he gathers bunches of bundles of fabric and holds them out for Link to see. 

There are yellows, greens, purples, reds, and pinks laid out on the floor, and Link looks over each of the fabrics carefully before choosing a soft yellow that he thinks you’ll appreciate. 

It’s not much – he'll have to discuss a plan with the koroks tomorrow – but it’s enough to get started. Maybe he’ll try to take a look around Gerudo Town! Oh, no, that... that won’t work. He’ll never make it back in time to deliver the fabric and help the koroks. It wont be finished in time! 

Wait, maybe... 

Hmm. 

Link smiles, paying Beedle with a nod before moving to pay for a bed. He’ll be sure to get to your home before you wake in the morning, and he really hopes your Korok friends are around to lend the hand he needs. 

He tucks away the yellow fabric in his bag before moving to get a good night’s sleep. He also thanks himself for picking up so many books from Hyrule castle’s library, because one of them just so happens to be full of dress patterns and sewing instructions. 

Tonight, Link rests well. 

He’s... going to need it. 

*** 

Meanwhile, at the Zora Domain... 

***

Sidon walks up to his father’s throne room, his head still wrapped around the moment he and you had shared earlier. He may not see you often, but when he does... those are his moments of true peace. If only he could see you more often... 

“You called for me, father?” 

King Dorephan looks to Sidon, sighing heavily before nodding. Muzu, at his side, says nothing. 

“I did. We have no time to waste, so I might as well simply tell you. Now, before you protest, this has been a long time coming...” 

Sidon looks to his father with confusion that he masks well enough as not to disrespect him. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand..” 

The king sighs once again before straightening himself. 

“I cannot remain king forever, Sidon. And I am getting old. You are now in line for the throne, and no one Zora can rule without the aid and love of another. And,” He adds quickly as Sidon opens his mouth, “I have given you more than enough time to choose a bride. And time and time again you have made no effort to find one. So,” The king motions for Muzu to move from his spot, and he does, retrieving an invitation to hand to Sidon. The prince unwraps it and reads as his father continues. 

“I’ve organized a ball to be thrown tomorrow night, and I’ve invited every eligible maiden in the land.” 

Sidon’s eyes widen as he reads, unable to believe his ears. No, no! This can’t be! He wasn’t ready to tell his father about Y/n, his friend, his- 

“Father, please! You canno-” 

“I’m sorry, my boy...” Muzu takes his place by the king’s side as he continues. “It’s already been done. Everything is already in motion. Tomorrow you will pick a bride to rule alongside you when it is your time to step up and take the throne.” 

Sidon felt his heart sink lower than it had in a long time. 

“I-” 

The king holds up a single hand, and Sidon falls silent once again. If only he would just listen! He wasn’t sure if he was truly falling for Y/n -- or if she would ever feel the same -- he needs more time! More time to spend with her, to sit with her by that river, to listen to her voice... 

“Whatever you are feeling, I want you to get through it. For me. For our people. For your sister.” 

Sidon’s jaw clenches. 

“Make Mipha proud of you, Sidon.” 

Sidon sighs. His sister loved him with all of her heart, and would want him to be happy, but... he knows that he must do what was right for his fellow Zora. And that is to rule alongside someone he... is to meet tomorrow... 

Oh! Perhaps his good friend Y/n would be there. Maybe she could help and guide him though this in his time of need. Sure, it’s never come up before that he is the prince of the Zora, but she shouldn’t... feel intimidated by that in any way, right? Oh, who is he kidding?

That’s why he’d never told her before. She was so frightened the first time they’d met, and he wouldn’t want her to be frightened away when she realized he was royalty. She sees him as an equal – and they are! It’s just... everyone who has ever known him has idolized him because of his status. 

But Y/n is just... different. 

In the most wonderful way. 

And that’s another reason he’s yet to tell her. 

He wouldn’t want to get her roped into this. 

Plus, she’s a human! Aren’t humans attracted to... well, other humans? There was no way she would ever see him as anything more than simply a friend. But if that means he has the honor of knowing her her entire life, then he would die happily knowing that he made her as happy as he could. 

After a long moment of silence, Sidon straightens himself, nodding before looking up at his father. 

“I will.” 

The king looks relieved beyond belief, leaning back in his throne. 

“Very good. Now, then! You may go, Sidon. There is so much work to be done!” 

Sidon bows before turning and exiting his father’s throne room, walking to his own chambers quickly, shutting the door and leaning against it, still holding the invitation to tomorrow night’s ball. 

He’s nervous, and not exactly thrilled... at all. That, and there was a small heaviness of disappointment weighing him down. 

He would struggle to get rest that night. 

***

Back in the village...

***

Morning comes, swift and silent, a new dawn just barely beginning to break over the horizon. Link quickly gathers his things and heads off for Kakariko village immediately, making it there in almost record time. There wasn’t a single soul awake in the village. 

Oops. Well, erm... scratch that. Link spots your koroks quietly leaving your room via your bedroom window, quietly whistling to get their attention. One korok is startled and falls from the window with a tiny shout. 

The rest hurry towards Link, and the one that had fallen had gotten up and rushed after all the others, and before poor Link knew what to do with himself, he was surrounded by a swarm of the little things. 

He begins signing to them that they need to work together, but all they can do is stare at him, confused. One mimics his hands (inaccurately) and another does the macarena. 

Link sighs. 

He shoos them back a little while he picks up a nearby stick, drawing out when he needs them to do in the dirt. 

Link may not be an artist, but the picture seems to get the point across. It’s a drawing in the dirt of a dress, surrounded by happy koroks, and a little doodle of Link giving them a thumbs up. 

While the koroks look at the drawing, Link pulls out the sewing book and a bunch of fabric, showing it to them before pointing at the window. 

There’s a chorus of “oooooh!!!” when they realize what they must do, and all the little Koroks happily dance around Link as he leads them away from the house, slightly up the hill. He needs to wait for you to get up and out of the room so there’s going to be enough space for everyone to work. 

So he waits. 

*** 

Not even 15 minutes later you rise, your regular morning routine commencing before you head downstairs to prepare breakfast. Link takes the opening, gesturing or the Koroks to head in first while he follows. 

After scaling your window, Link finds himself in your room, now empty as you quietly move around downstairs, completely unaware of the Hylian in your house. 

Link spots your sketches from the previous night and smiles, picking them up off of your desk and showing them to the few Koroks that weren’t rooting through the fabric Link had brought. 

The koroks chatter amongst themselves, and wouldn’t you know it? Jaime and Cherik take a look at Link picking up a sewing needle and getting to work and quickly deduce that this dress is going to need some extra tender, loving care. 

The pair exit your room, but not before being spotted by your birds, who quickly follow them. The five descend the ladder, coming to a stop as they reach the bottom, sitting amongst the gardening tools and extra supplies lying about. 

“Oke-okay! We’re’a gonna needa~…" 

Cherik waddles over to the shut door, listening to your stepsisters fussing for their breakfasts from their bedrooms. He hears footsteps quickly ascend the stairs, muttering “Coming, coming...” as you go. 

“Ribbons!!!” Jaime adds happily, jumping up to follow Cherik’s lead. Another Korok pops their head out of a nearby pot, holding a single bead. 

“And somea these!!” 

“Ya-ha-ha!” Cherik smiles under their mask, deciding that they should cross the main room quickly if they’re going to get away with this. 

The three Koroks turn to sparkles, darting across the room and coming to stop under the coffee table, then darting under the couch before returning to physical form. 

And so begins their hunt for “shiny things.” 

They uncover buttons under the couch, along with an old string of long-forgotten false pearls. They hold them in their tiny hands with light laughter, continuing the journey through the house. 

They turn it into a game to avoid you on purpose, making sure to keep the surprise a secret – just until the evening, of course! 

And so, they set off, going to raid Maria’s room first. 

Because where else would you find shiny things? 

*** 

Your day’s almost over, thank goodness... because you only have an hour to finish your dress, and two hours before you’re due to depart for the ball. 

You’d swear that your stepsisters are trying their hardest to make your day even more difficult than it had to be. They had drug more mud around than they have in a long time, they’ve been demanding you finish their laundry that you haven’t seen in MONTHS. 

You carry the laundry basket on your hip, moving to a nearby stream to clean them as fast as possible. You couldn’t go all the way to the river now – you'd never make it back in time! 

You kneel by the stream, quickly setting off to work as you think about your day, and how it’s ridiculous that they’re having you wash a sweater you haven’t seen them wear in years. 

Plus, your stepmother has been going out of her way to find things for you to clean. She’d had you scrubbing the ceilings, for goddesses’s sake! The ceilings! 

Abigail has kicked over your buckets of dirty water twice, Maria has dirtied up the mirrors with the oil from her face multiple times, and the cuccos had “somehow” gotten into the house, leaving a mess of feathers and random eggs everywhere... not to mention the tracks. 

Oh, you could just cry right now. You’ve had it with the chores and muddy shoes for one day. Thankfully this was all you had to finish, and then you were home free. Well, except for your shoes... oh, maybe you could make your dress long enough so nobody had to see your shoes... 

You quickly finish up the laundry, jogging through town to get to the house to hang it up to dry, trying to guess the time. It feels to be about 4:30 PM, and you know that if you really, really hurry, you’ll be able to make it in time! 

You practically throw the laundry up on the line, sprinting up the front steps and into the house, beaming as you do so. Your stepmother is crossing the room as you enter, and you must surprise her. She sneers slightly. 

“What are you so happy about? Don’t you have to go scrub the-” 

“Cucco coop? I already did.” 

She looks shocked, and you hardly pay her wicked eyes any mind as you put away the laundry basket. 

“What about the ceilings?” 

“Finished!” 

You untie your apron, and your stepsisters walk out of the bathroom, peering over the banister at the commotion, sending glares your way. 

“And the dishes? Behind the stove? The sweeping, the mopping, the stairs?” 

“All done.” 

You smile as you fold your apron, holding it in your hands as you take a small step backwards towards the spare room. 

“The house is spotless, and I made sure of it. Now, if I may, I... well, I must go and get ready.” You beam at the three before you turn, softly opening and closing the door that leads to the ladder that leads to the trapdoor of your room. 

You disappear from sight, and your stepmother is left seething in the living room, her daughters descending the stairs as they squabble for her attention. 

“Mother!” Maria squawks, looking between her and the door. “You can’t let HER go! She’ll embarrass all of us, and then the prince will never marry me!” 

“Ugh,” Abigail scoffs, offended as she shoves past her sister, stepping in front of their mother. “He’s obviously going to marry me, but if little miss thorn-in-my-side is there, he won’t ever-” 

“He’ll marry ME, Abiga-” 

“Now listen, I know he-” 

“Girls, girls...” 

Your stepmother stands with her arms crossed, chin up. “She won’t be going.” 

The girls sit for a moment in stunned silence. 

“But... the house is spotless, she said so herself...” 

“She can’t go to the ball if she has no dress... and there is no way she’ll finish it in time.” 

Lady Christina turns to her two daughters, nodding once for them to leave her sight. 

“Go. Get ready for tonight. I’ll come and help you both with your hair. One of you will be dancing with the prince tonight.” 

She sends one final glare to your door before ascending the stairs behind her two bratty daughters. 

“I’ll be making sure of it.”


	3. Chapter 3

You enter your room, happy to finally be finished with your chores for the day. You only have roughly an hour before you’re due to depart, so if you’re going to get this done, you need to get it done fast. 

When you lift up the trapdoor that leads to your room, you’re not expecting to see Link standing there, smiling, holding something... yellow? Behind his back. 

All of your korok friends – and a few new koroks – call out “Surprise!” when you stand in front of them, watching with confusion and happiness. 

Link pulls the yellow fabric from behind him, and holds it up for you to see as the koroks usher you forward. 

It’s a dress! 

Oh, and It's a beautiful dress. It’s a soft buttercream yellow with a ribbon tied around the waist and a medium sized bow in the back. It flows all the way to the floor, and the sleeves are soft and simple. 

You feel yourself tearing up slightly. 

“You made this for me?” 

You take the dress gently into your hands, looking it over. 

“We all did.” Link gestures to the happy koroks, and you set the dress down on the bed, hugging Link for a moment with a joyous “Thank you!!!” 

You look around the room at all the Koroks, quite a few of them happily chattering that you try the dress on. You kneel and kiss their foreheads, thanking them all as they swarm you for a group hug, and you can just feel yourself getting more emotional by the minute. 

“Alright, I'll try it on!” You pick up the dress and hurry behind your divider in the corner of the room, changing quickly. 

You peer over the top of the divider to Link, who seems to be playing a game with some of the koroks, asking him what time it was. 

He pulls out his sheika slate, signing to you that you have thirty minutes before you’re due to depart. 

You finish dressing, and one of the koroks holds up a pearl necklace for you to wear, and you happily accept it, moving from behind the divider to ask a single, excited question. 

“How do I look?” 

There’s a chorus of “Oooo”s and “aaah”s from the koroks and two thumbs up from Link as you do a twirl, your best house-shoes hidden beneath the dress. 

“I... I don’t know what to say.” 

Link shakes his head as he ushers you forward, sitting you down so the koroks can help you fluff and style your hair. 

“You deserve a night to yourself. You deserve every day to yourself! This is the least we could do for you, Y/n. The best way to say ‘thank you’ is to go and have fun.” 

The koroks waste no time in styling your hair, and by the time you’re finished, you look lovely. They had let your hair down, but kept it away from your face. It looked better than it has in a long time, and looking at yourself in your broken mirror lifted your spirits and put a smile on your face. 

“Thank you so much. I won’t forget this any time soon!” 

You stand and move to exit your room, waving at everyone with a smile as you heard them call out their wishes for you to have a lovely night. You sign “thank you” one last time to Link before heading downstairs to wait. He nods with a smile, and then you’re gone. 

As soon as you close your trapdoor, you hear a chorus of cheering overhead from the koroks, laughing as you come to the bottom of the ladder. 

You take a deep breath before you open the door to the main room where your stepmother and stepsisters were standing, talking amongst themselves as they awaited their coach. 

Abigail is the first to spot you, and her jaw drops as she does. The others quickly follow her gaze after a moment of confusion, and they all look almost exactly alike in that one moment. 

Before you can say anything, Maria hisses as she grabs your stepmother’s sleeve, tugging it for attention. 

“Mother-!” 

“Hush.” 

Your stepmother holds up a hand to her before turning her attention fully on you, squinting slightly. 

“... I see you somehow managed to scrounge something up.” 

You nod, standing your ground. “I did.” Is all you say. She doesn’t need to know anything else. All she has to do is obey the king’s orders – and that is to see that every eligible maiden is to attend. 

She reaches down and grabs a bunch of fabric in her hand, rolling it between her fingers, wrinkling her nose at it slightly, dropping it in distaste. 

“And just where did you get the materials for this?” 

“Oh, I-” 

“You weren’t... stealing, were you?” 

Her voice full of malice, she turns to her daughters. “What do you two think? Don’t you agree that the only way something like her could get her hands on such rich materials is if they were stolen?” 

The girls scoff as they agree. 

“You have a point... but the markets around here don’t sell those fabrics! So...that would have to mean...she-” 

“STOLE THEM FROM US?!” 

Abigail’s outraged shout pierces your ears as you take a frightened step back. 

“No, I haven’t stolen a thing! These were bought with Rupe-” 

“Stolen rupees! You don’t have a cent to your name!” 

You swallow as you’re backed into a corner, quickly putting together that you were in a tight spot. But before you can try to get back into the side room, your stepmother’s cold hand clamps over the doorknob, a wicked smile on her thin lips. 

“This dress was made fair and squa-AH!” 

Maria tugs on the yellow fabric that cascades to the ground, and you stumble slightly as Abigail pulls from another end, and the girls are practically playing tug-of-war with you. You shout and swat at their hands with hard shouts of “Let me go! Stop!” 

The girls ignore you, and the beautiful dress that was made so lovingly had ripped, the yellow fabric in the cruel clutches of your stepsister, with hair as dark as her soul. 

Abigail rips and tears at your necklace, and more and more of your dress is ripped and torn, the ribbons and fabric strips nothing more than garbage as they fall to the floor as you do your best to defend yourself, trying to push and shove them away to no avail. 

You do, however, manage to push Maria away – hard enough for her to stumble and fall backwards clumsily. 

Your stepmother shouts something you don’t catch, striking you across the face once with another shout. 

“Now!” She shouts, as if you had done anything wrong. You hold your stinging cheek, and tears threaten to spill over as you glare at your stepmother. “You are never to lay another hand on my beautiful girl again!” She helps Maria to her feet, straightening her dress as Maria straightens her own. 

“We will discuss your punishment when we return – and you had better believe that the prince of the Zora will not take kindly to a lowly human like yourself assaulting his future bride!” 

With a final freezing cold stare your way, she motions for her daughters to leave the house as she hears their coach pull up in front of your house. 

They’re almost out of the door when your stepmother turns back to you, barely noting that you were holding a few tatters in your hands, a heartbroken expression all over your face. 

“And Y/n?” 

You look up, glaring at her with all the poison you can manage. 

“...Clean up this mess.” 

And with one final sneer, the door slams shut behind her. 

You sniffle, barely holding yourself together as you drop the shredded fabric in your hands to the floor, getting to your feet and moving through the spare room to run through the back door, running through the garden and up the hill, into the woods where your beloved apple tree had grown. 

You weren’t even sure where you were going at this point – you just had to get away. Away from that house, away from the heartache. You couldn’t be there tonight. Not with your ruined dress and broken dreams scattered all along the living room floor. 

You trip at one point, falling to your knees on what seemed to be some giant flower. Not that it really mattered at the moment, right...? 

You can’t hold back your sobs anymore, and you let yourself go, one of your hands holding onto the shard of shooting star that was attached to the string on your neck. 

Why hadn’t your father looked out for you tonight...? Why couldn’t the Goddess have done something to help you? Was your stepmother right all along...? 

Is it true that nobody wants a human around? 

Your sobs are silenced when you feel a hand on your back. A... GIANT hand. You’re startled for a moment, even when you open your eyes to find light – and a... woman? 

You try to scramble back and away, but her voice stops you somehow. You feel... warm. Safe. Warmer and safer than you had in a very long time. 

“Now now, dear... there’s no need to cry.” 

You sniffle and dry your eyes, deciding to go along with... whatever this is. “I... I’m sorry, but... who are you?” 

“My name is Cotera... but for tonight, I am your fairy godmother.” 

She smiles softly, patting your back gently, handing you a handkerchief to dry your eyes with. Thankfully, it’s your size. 

You pat away your tears as you listen to what she has to say. 

“Now normally, I only repair clothes. And they typically come with a price. But for you...” She tilts your face upward with the tip of her finger, humming in thought. “For you, I’ll make an exception.” 

You give a tearful laugh. 

“I... I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.” 

Her eyes widen before she laughs, smiling at you with nothing but joy. “I’m quite serious, my dear. Now, how shall I help you, exactly? And if I dare ask, what happened?” She toys with what little yellow fabric was left, and you smile bitterly at the ground before you take a deep breath and relay everything that had happened inside that wretched house. 

When you finish your relay of events, your fairy godmother looks shocked and appalled before looking mildly furious. 

“Oh, you’re GOING to that ball!” She shakes her head before composing herself and smiling again, gently motioning for you spin around. 

She has you hold your arms out, twirl, and puff out your chest before muttering something to herself. 

“Aright, let me see what I can do. Close your eyes, my child.” 

You give her a wary look before doing what she asked. 

You hear something that sounds like a kiss before she boops you on the forehead with her finger with a quiet giggle. 

You feel warm, and hear a sort of shimmering noise. 

“Okay! You can open your eyes now!” 

You do, and you open your eyes to find that your fairy godmother had magicked up a mirror in front of you. 

You’re... absolutely beautiful. 

You’re wearing a lovely shade of light blue, the light and flowing ballgown fitting your curves just right, a slight sparkle catching your eyes every so often as you move slightly. You glimmer like a gemstone, and the silent princess flower in your hair glows with the hemming. 

Your hair is in an elegant updo, and even YOU didn’t recognize yourself. 

You had no idea you could look so, so pretty. 

“I... Thank you. Thank you!” You look up at the fairy, who is smiling gleefully. 

“Of course, sweet Y/n. You deserve it. Oh! And for a finishing touch...” 

You look down, noticing a glow under your dress, lifting it slightly to reveal glass slippers, each with a glass silent princess bloom on the front. They shine in the light of the magic around them. 

“Now, because there weren’t any ingredients used in the making of this dress, my magic will only work until midnight. After the final stroke of midnight, my spell will be broken. So you must be home by then.” 

Your smile falls a bit, and the mirror disappears. “Oh, midnight? But... the Zora domain is so far away. How will I ever get there in time?” 

The great fairy puts a finger to her chin before spotting some odd, glowing bunny nearby, along with some wild pumpkins. 

She blows kisses towards them all, and you watch in amazement as the bunny turns into a beautiful blue glowing horse, and the pumpkin becomes a carriage. 

“Oh, and what about a... oh!” 

She grabs a little pink fairy seemingly out of nowhere, and with a little of her magic, they become as human as they’ll get, bowing slightly to your as they open the door to your carriage. 

You stand there, slack-jawed, until the great fairy clears her throat. 

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go! Go, have a wonderful night! Dance, be gay! Now go, my dear! Be on your way!” 

She pushes you forward, and you hop into the coach happily, heart beating wildly in your chest, watching as your fairy godmother waves you away -- 

And then you’re gone in the night, well on your way to the Zora domain.


	4. Chapter 4

The Zora domain is a bustle with life – Hylians, Zora, Gerudo, Rito, Gorons... and it was indeed true that every eligible lady in the land had attended. 

Sidon had been greeting guests as they’d arrived, politely returning bows, giving polite smiles to the ladies of his fanclub who were giggling and flocking behind him. He sighs. 

He had been dreading the evening all day, wondering to himself if there had been any possible way to escape this – but he simply couldn’t. He’d been surrounded by Zora who had been tending to him all day, and he hadn’t even a moment to breathe alone. 

He had wanted to go and see Y/n at least once that day – to maybe try and explain to her this situation. Oh, but... probably not. Maybe he could have asked for advice as if it were a hypothetical situation. 

He sighs as the next group of guests pass him, straightening himself and continuing to smile. 

A Zora had been calling out the names of the ladies of the land as they had arrived. He calls out the next few names, and two Hylians walk forth somewhat clumsily. 

“Lady Abigail of Kakariko!” 

Oh! This must be Y/n’s stepsister he’s heard so much about... 

A girl wearing a hot pink dress steps forth, curtsying and giving him a... look. A look that makes him very, very uncomfortable. Her looks certainly fit her personality. 

She walks away, and the next name is called. 

“Lady Maria of Kakariko!” 

Maria steps forward, curtsying and giving him the best smile she could manage – though calling it a smile is a stretch. It’s more like she’s simply baring her teeth. He barely manages to hide his shudder. 

But Y/n should be next! He straightens himself, hoping he looks alright as he raises his eyes to see-! 

“Lady Paya of Kakariko!” 

His heart sinks. 

Then... she was unable to attend? Did her stepmother leave her behind? Was she ill? He wonders as he greets the young woman before him, motioning to the Zora that he needs a moment. 

He thankfully manages to slip away and to a quieter part of the large, grand ballroom, picking up a flute of courser bee honey champagne, taking a quick sip. Maybe it would help loosen him up a little. 

He wants to make his sister proud, and he wants to be able to rule with someone when his father cannot... but this? If he were to have things go his way, he would continue to bond with Y/n, take things slow, and give her the option to rule alongside him. His feelings for Y/n aren’t going away any time soon, but there is no way he would drop a bomb of a question like ‘hey, I’m the prince of the Zora, sorry I forgot to mention that, will you marry me?’ 

He can feel his shoulders tensing up, taking another sip of the champagne. 

Y/n would never return his feelings. He knows that. He knows that he will have to push them aside. For her sake. He just- he just couldn’t wrap her up in this... 

He takes another sip. 

Maybe she will arrive tonight...? He hopes so. He needs someone to confide in. 

No. No, if she were coming, she would have arrived with her stepmother and stepsisters... she had no other way of getting to the domain. 

He drains his glass, setting it back down and clearing his throat quietly before returning to the bustle of people. 

All he had to do was make it through the night. 

*** 

Meanwhile, outside of the Zora Domain... 

*** 

Your carriage arrives quite late and- wow, this place is huge! You’ve never been outside of the village aside from the riverbank – you hadn’t the faintest idea of... well, anything nearly this beautiful. 

The Zora Domain is made up beautiful, shining blues and silvers, floating lanterns and fireflies illuminating the place. And there seemed to be something of a huge castle, all the way behind the winding paths and shops, a larger-than-life porcelain whale tail reaching up the sky marking the top of the grand castle. 

The carriage passes over a long, long bridge, and you can hardly contain your excitement as you approach the castle. But you weren’t interested in dancing with the prince, if we were completely honest. You’re only looking for a night to enjoy yourself – and... maybe if Sidon was here, you could ask him to dance with you? Though you weren’t exactly sure if you were tall enough. 

Your pumpkin carriage stops, and your coachman opens the door for you, and you thank him as you step out. 

This place is breath-taking. The air is pleasantly warm, the smell of the ocean and water-lotus filling the air around you. 

You can hear music playing as you step forward and up the grand blue steps, your dress glowing softly in the dim light as you approach the entryway, which is lit well. 

The Zora guards that were standing at attention watch you with their eyes, and you nod your head in greeting to them as you pass, walking down the hallway that was bathed in a warm light. 

The hall leads straight into a huge room, filled with many, many people, who were drinking and dancing and having a wonderful time, the orchestra’s music swelling and filling you with a feeling of joy that you rarely feel anymore. 

The ceilings are high, and the entire room is made up of elegant, intricate detail work, huge windows with frosted glass. There are countless lanterns, the golden light shining on the floor that shimmers like water. At the very back of the room, King Dorephan sits on a huge throne, watching the party. 

Your hand places itself over your heart – where your shooting star shard usually sat. 

“Thank you,” You whisper, tearing up slightly as you smile, hoping that wherever your father was, he could hear you. 

You can feel quite a few eyes on you, and you can’t help but blush. Hopefully you look okay – oh, hopefully you don’t look out of place! You happily take a flute of champagne from a Zora who had been offering them, thanking them. They smile, continuing on their way. 

You take a drink – you've never had any before – and it’s sweet and a little bubbly, and you wonder how something could taste so good. 

You watch the couples dancing, moving to a less-crowded area as you take another drink, smiling slightly as you watch everyone have a good time – or at least, that’s what you’d planned to do. 

You’d looked out of an archway at the scenery, which took your very breath away, not expecting someone to gently take your hand. 

You’re a bit startled for a moment, tripping a little over your glass slippers, throwing yourself off-balance – but thankfully, a hand is able to catch your waist, steadying you. You look up to meet the golden eyes of Sidon, wide with surprise. 

“...Y/n?” 

“Sidon!” 

“I’m always catching you, aren’t I, my little minnow?” He laughs, pulling you up from the partial dip he had held you in. 

You laugh with him, blushing. 

“Oh, you tease.” 

He laughs again – oh, how dreamy his laughter is – gently releasing your hand from his, looking off to the orchestra briefly as their song ended before returning his gaze to you. 

“Yes, well, I’m not quite finished yet.” 

Oh goodness – what was he trying to do, set you aflame? 

He bows slightly, looking ever-so handsome and charming in the light, flashing you a warm, sweet smile as he offered you his hand. The orchestra begins a new, gorgeous tune -- a waltz, perhaps? 

“May I have this dance?” 

Your breath hitches, and you would swear that you had never felt so warm in all your life. This was a dream come true. 

You curtsy, giggling a little as you take his hand. 

“I would love nothing more.” 

He then raises your hand to his lips, placing a kiss to the back of your delicate glove before leading you from where you stood off on the sidelines. 

The lights seem to dim as the two of you reach the empty floor, countless others on the sidelines watching you with curiosity – not that you exactly cared. The golden light was now dim, accompanied by pinks and a deep blue, leaving your dress and the flower in your hair to glow as you and Sidon placed your hands on one another, beginning the dance. 

You have one hand holding his, and another on your dress as he leads – thank goodness. You weren’t sure how you looked in that moment. You were just happy you weren’t stepping on his toes. You follow his lead, swaying to the music, heart pounding in your chest as you looked into his eyes. 

“Thank you for leading – I've never danced before,” You tell him quietly, a warm smile spreading across your face. 

“No?” He questions, his charming smile back upon his face. “I never would have guessed. You’re truly a natural.” 

You want to snort with laughter in that moment, but your nerves don’t allow you to. This moment is just... to warm. Too wonderful. Too... 

Romantic. 

The two of you twirl gracefully across the ballroom floor, the eyes of the crowd on the both of you. Your heels give you an advantage in height, and the both of you not taking your eyes off of one another. 

You’re having such a wonderful time that you don’t even spot your stepmother and stepsisters on the sidelines, glaring at you as you and Sidon twirl across the floor. 

Maria is shooting daggers with her eyes, holding her champagne flute so hard that it snaps in half, while Abigail is pouting, likely on the verge of a hissy-fit. 

“Mother,” She whines quietly, not taking so much as a sip of her drink, too upset over the fact that she wouldn’t be dancing with the prince. “Who is she?” 

“Do we know her?” 

Your stepmother’s cold glare follows you – and she hasn’t the foggiest idea. She doesn’t recognize this unfortunately beautiful girl – and realistically, she knows her daughters didn’t stand a chance. And she has no idea how she could have missed you entering the ball. You hadn’t been announced – she made sure to make a note of every woman announced. 

You and Sidon spin – gracefully making your way around together. You have... natural chemistry with one another, and it’s almost as if your hand belongs in his. 

“No, I don’t believe we do...” 

“But the prince certainly seems to,” Abigail pouts, peering over the shoulders of the other guests. “Are you sure?” 

Your stepmother ponders on it for a moment. 

“Well...” She looks at everything—your complexion, your hair, what she can make of your face... “There is something... familiar about her.” 

The both of you dance off to another, more secluded part of the ballroom, which lead to an archway to the outside. The orchestra can still be heard loud and clear – and a singer has begun to make herself known somewhere. 

“So this is love...” The lovely voice of the mystery singer is followed by her gentle humming, and in the light of the full moon, you can read something in Sidon’s eyes that you hadn’t before. It couldn’t be- was it...? Adoration? Possibly...? 

“So this is love...” 

Sidon’s smile sends your heart aflutter once again, and the two of you continue to dance gracefully across an arched bridge that lead over the glimmering waters of the domain. 

“So this is what makes life worthwhile. I’m all aglow,” 

When you reach the other end of the bridge, Sidon holds your hand to keep you steady as you walk along a slightly raised portion of the walkway, bringing you up to his shoulder’s height. 

“And now I know...” 

The both of you are humming along with the song that had been playing inside as you walk – you’re up on the raised portion, and even though you had your balance, your hands remained intertwined. 

You come to a beautiful balcony that had a view of a waterfall, the twinkling stars shining above you as the elegant music cascaded from the ballroom and into the night, accompanying yours and Sidon’s humming as you harmonized, beginning to dance once again under the moon. 

“So this is the miracle that i’ve been dreaming of...” 

You look into his eyes – warm, golden, looking back at you. His hand on your waist is distracting, and you’re still holding his hand when he seems to lean in a little closer. Just a little. 

“So this is love...” 

You move closer too, heart fluttering as the both of you close the gap, his lips, warm and soft, moving in harmony with yours, tasting of the champagne. 

Your eyes are closed, and your hand lifts from his shoulder to cup his face, remaining there even after he had pulled away. 

Before you know it, the two of you are colliding once again, and his mouth opens to nip ever-so-gently at your lips. You gasp quietly against him, opening your mouth, pulling him closer.

Your kiss sparks in you a feeling you had ever experienced before -- and in a mix of your lips and teeth, you realize that you would never find anything like this anywhere else. And oh, his kisses were just as you'd dreamed they would be.

When the both of you have no choice but to part for breath, you’re so sure you could melt into a puddle right there on the spot. The kiss leaves you craving more- oh, how you want so, so much more. You wished you could be graced with his kisses the whole night. 

You open your eyes, absolutely over the moon. He kissed you! He really kissed you! There are huge plants around that give you both some privacy, thank goodness, and the both of you sit by the balcony’s edge, where you both look at once another under the stars. You’re almost at a loss for words. But you manage. 

“This has been so wonderful.” You smile warmly up at Sidon, who was staring at you with an unreadable look in his eyes – all you know is that it’s something warm that you’ve never seen. 

“Yes, yes... it has.” He’s still holding your hand, raising it gently to his lips, planting a soft kiss there. Your heart is hammering in that moment. 

“Sidon?” 

He looks up at you, and a chill shoots through you. A good one. 

“I guess now would be a good time to uh, confess that-” You stop for a moment. Should you really tell him that you’ve had this crush for a while? To finally get the words off of your mind and your chest? “Well, I-” 

You’re cut off by the sound of chiming – the clock. You look up to where it sits in the Zora domain – and lo and behold, it’s striking midnight. 

Panic shoots through you. When the great fairy’s magic wears off, you’ll be either in tatters again or your undergarments! And you’ll look like a battered mess! Oh, he just simply can’t see you like that- he'll worry and you just- 

You stand quickly, and Sidon sits up, alert. 

“I have to go.” You say quickly, taking your dress in your hands and lifting the front of the gown slightly, moving quickly back towards where the two of you had come. 

He stands behind you, confused, beginning to follow you. “What? Wait!” 

You’d been correct – worry was written all over Sidon’s face. Had he taken it too far? Oh, he- he'd taken advantage of you! That was wrong of him to do so! He had to apologize to you at once. 

You hurry through the ballroom, the crowd of people watching with curious eyes as the orchestra continues. 

“Wait just a moment, please!” Sidon’s voice is nearly lost in the crowd, but another is not. 

“Stop that girl!” A loud, booming voice echoes out – is that the king?! The king of the Zora was calling out for someone to be stopped- he couldn’t mean you, right? 

The music stops suddenly, and you can hear Sidon shouting... something at the king. “Please, don’t!” 

But it’s too late. The guards seem to focus on you – and your fight-or flight response kicks in quickly. You run as quickly as the glass slippers will allow you, and begin your way down the steps. 

“I command that you stop! Do not pursue her!” That was Sidon, shouting to the guards – what in the world does the king want with you?! Had you done something wrong?! 

You’re going to fast that you run right out of one of your shoes – and you want to turn around to get it, but you’re running out of time! 

You simply take off the other slipper, holding it in your hand as you run barefoot to your carriage, getting inside quickly, and speeding off. Oh, what a mess! You would have to explain to Sidon why you had rushed off in the morning. You hoped you hadn’t hurt his feelings by rushing away! 

The clock chimes as you approach the bridge, and Zora guards on horseback seem to be... chasing you?! 

The clock chimes ten times... 

You cross the bridge, the horse galloping across the field. 

Eleven... 

You round a corner, your carriage hidden behind a hill. 

Twelve. 

There’s a mess of gold and blue sparkles, and the same shimmering from earlier fills your ears as the carriage begins to shrink, and then it seems to break apart, and you land roughly on the ground, the injuries you’d sustained healed by the little pink fairy as it returns to normal and disappears. You’ve tumbled into some bushes, and all you can hear is the thundering of the horses as the Zora guards ride right past you and into the night. 

You’re left panting for a moment, sticks and leaves in your hair, wearing the tattered dress that link had made for you. You laugh a little in disbelief, and then laugh harder, falling back to lay in the dirt, the only thing surviving being your glass slipper, which was still in your hand. You look at it in the moonlight, and it’s... still real. Still glimmering. Still beautiful. 

That blue bunny that had been your horse had gone away in a puff of sparkles, leaving a mess of rupees behind. You weren’t sure what that was all about, but you had too much going on inside your head to worry about it right then. 

That... that was amazing. And now that your heart is starting to beat at a normal pace, running from the guards was... a little terrifying, but sort of fun. 

That had been wonderful – up until that end there. You would have to ask Sidon what that had been about, if he knew, next time you saw him. And you would have to ask Sidon if that kiss you’d shared was genuine – and not because of the heat of the moment. It couldn’t have been, right? It had to be real! He- a handsome, kind, wonderful Zora, had wanted to kiss you... 

You sit up, moving a hand up to hold your shard of shooting star. 

“Thank you, Cotera...” 

You look up to the sky, smiling softly. 

“Thank you, father.” 

Despite all you’ve gone through today, that moment with Sidon made it all worthwhile. 

That was truly magical. 

*** 

Meanwhile, back at the Zora domain... 

*** 

There had been quite to commotion, and the guests were filtering out – the ones who were left, that was. And the guards had returned empty-handed, explaining to both the king and Muzu how the mystery girl had simply... disappeared. 

Sidon was mortified – he had wanted to kiss you for so long, but never in any of his daydreams had you ever run away afterwards. Oh, what had he done...? 

He’d made a fool of himself, that’s what. He had taken the kiss too far. Had he.. Pressured you in some way? He had obviously upset you or made you uncomfortable, and he was overwhelmed with guilt over it. 

“Sidon!” His father’s voice brings him from his own head, and he stands up straight, looking up to the king. “Who was that girl?” 

He hesitates for a moment. He didn’t want to lie, but... after you’d hurried away from him like you had, the last thing you wanted was his father hunting you down and dragging you to the domain! After that incident, he wouldn’t be surprised if you never wanted to see him again. 

“I...” He makes up his mind quickly. It’s best to simply let you go... he’s not about to do anything that may bring you any harm – even emotional. He’s done enough damage. “I have no idea. I’ve never seen her before. And I don’t know her name.” 

The king looks very displeased, ordering the people of his court. “Does anyone know anything? Do we have any clues as to who she could be?” 

One of the knights steps forward, holding something small and sparkling in his hand. “No, sire... all we were able to find of her was this – a single glass slipper.” 

Sidon’s eyes widen at it. She had been in so much of a hurry she had run out of her shoes? How badly had he frightened her? He hopes she had made it home safely, and his heart sinks at the thought of her being that distraught. 

The king sighs, lowering his head for a moment. 

“Muzu, it seems we have our work cut out for us... and Sidon?” 

He looks towards his father, hoping to disguise his heartache. 

“I want you to get some rest – we need you at your sharpest if we are to ever find this girl.” 

Sidon nods, and without another word, leaves for his chambers. 

He’ll send for Link to see that Y/n was okay in the morning – but as for tonight? He thinks it best to simply let her be. He owes her the time to gather herself... 

This is another night he struggles to rest, eventually falling into a dreamless sleep, broken by images of the look of panic that had flashed across your face before you’d run off and into the night.

Oh, what a fool he was...

Why, oh why, had he done that?


	5. Chapter 5

You’d arrived home before dawn, thankfully, thanks to those rupees that the rabbit had dropped. You’d been able to make your way to the nearest stable and pay for a ride home -- and oh, what a wreck you must have looked like. But you didn’t care. You were too happy – you'd had too much of a good time dancing with Sidon that night. 

You had only gotten a few hours of sleep, your dreams littered with scenes from the ball – the music, the warm light, the feeling of Sidon’s lips against yours... 

You wake in the morning, a little sore from your tumble after your carriage had... crumbled last night, but in a wonderful mood nonetheless. 

You head down the ladder that leads to the side room after you had dressed and readied yourself for the day, humming the waltz from last night as you quietly made tea, gathering ingredients for breakfast as you flitted about the kitchen – until you heard your name being called harshly. 

“Y/n! Y/n!! Oh, where is that stupid-” 

“I’m in here.” You exit the kitchen to find your stepmother, who was taking off her hat from her outing as she came through the front doors. That’s odd – If she had any business, she would always order you to see her out. 

“Where are my daughters?” 

You blink, confused. “Well, I believe they’re still in bed.” 

She huffs, annoyed as she begins to head up the stairs. 

“I’ll wake them myself... prepare the breakfast trays and bring them up at once – and be quick about it!” 

And with that, she’s gone in a flash. 

You find yourself mildly startled, but you hurry to grab trays anyway, deciding to bring up the tea first, placing everything you needed onto a silver serving tray, heading up the stairs to the room farthest on the right. 

You wonder if there’s some sort of emergency, or if this is simply your wicked stepmother beginning to lose her mind. Whatever the case, you knew you would have to weather out the storm of insanity she would thrust upon you – you think it best not to say a word about it for now. It would do you no good anyway. 

You enter the room to find both Maria and Abigail on the bed, yawning and exhausted, squinting against the curtains that your stepmother had drawn. 

“All of Hylia is talking about it,” Your stepmother seems to be in the middle of a sentence when you walk in, and your stepsisters listen drowsily, not paying you any mind. Lady Christina goes through her daughter’s closet. 

“Talking about what?” 

“That girl from last night! The one who had been dancing with the prince!” She continues to root through the closet. “The King’s advisor has been hunting for her all night -- he’s madly in love with her!” 

“The advisor is?” Abigail’s dimwitted question comes from under her hat as you stand in the doorway, listening – waiting for them to ask for their tea. The prince had been dancing with someone? You'd been so preoccupied with Sidon that you hadn't even seen the prince...

Your stepmother turns to her daughter. “No! The prince! Now get up and out of bed, we haven’t a moment to lose!” 

What on earth was she rambling about? The prince from the ball had fallen in love last night? That’s wonderful for him, but- 

“If he’s in love with that girl, then why should we bother?” Maria lays lazily back on the bed, draping her arm over her eyes.

“Because one of you still has a chance at marrying him!” 

The two shoot straight up, eyes wide before they squawk overlapping questions, silenced by a wave of their mother’s hand. You listen too, curious. You’re not one to gossip – you just want to know what you’re in for that day. 

“Now you listen here – nobody, not even the prince himself, knows who that girl is. The only clue is the glass slipper that she left behind.” 

Your eyes widen, and you gasp quietly, the entire world seeming to freeze in that moment. 

The ball? A mysterious girl? A glass slipper? 

The prince? 

That girl had to be YOU. And the only person you had danced with was- and that- 

And that meant that- 

Sidon is the prince of the Zora?! 

“The king’s advisor has been ordered to try that slipper on every girl in the kingdom. And whoever it fits shall be the prince’s bride!” 

His bride?? 

You drop your tray, and the cups and kettle fall and shatter. 

You stand in complete shell-shock, blushing furiously, not even registering that your stepmother had yelled at you until you felt the warmth of the tea beginning to soak through your shoe. Oh. Oh, right. Right. 

You kneel down to pick up the cups and place them gently back onto the tray, smiling softly, standing up. 

How had you not seen it before? He was so polite and handsome and- oh, it made sense that he had shouted commands to the guards. Who he was lined up with being a prince- why had it not come up before, you wonder?

Your friend – your crush, had declared to the land that he was in love with you? But he didn’t know it had been YOU he was dancing with? Or was he simply just saying that to protect you somehow? 

Oh, but goodness, when you think back to that kiss you have to think that just a part of him had known it was you. Maybe it was the champagne that had left him unable to recognize you – oh, but that doesn’t really matter. Once the king’s advisor arrived, all you had to do was prove that you were the girl that Sidon and the king were searching for. 

You didn’t realize you had been staring dreamily off into the distance until your arms were full of laundry, and Maria was shouting something. 

“Wake up, stupid!” 

“Yeah!” Abigail adds, hands on her hips. “We’ve got to get dressed!” 

You look down at yourself, in your tattered clothes and stained apron, and agree. You do need to get dressed. 

“Yes, yes, dressed... you’re right.” You hand Abigail the tray with the laundry on top before moving to leave the room, not paying them any mind at all, humming the waltz from last night as you made your way back to your room. 

You don’t feel the cold, piercing stare of your stepmother’s eyes on your back – you simply make your way through the hall and down the stairs, almost waltzing yourself as you make your way, your dancing turning into a skip. 

You practically float up to your room, letting your hair down and brushing it, softly singing to yourself – the same song you and Sidon had hummed together before you’d kissed. Your heart felt so light, and your dreamy air is so distracting that you almost miss the koroks who pop up before your broken mirror – frantically chattering about something – but they’re speaking too fast for you to understand. 

“What? What is it?” 

And that’s when you spot movement in the mirror – your trapdoor was open slightly, and the cruel glare of your stepmother sent a horrid chill through you when you spot her – and the key in her hand. You gasp, and begin to rush forward – but you’re too late – she's locked the trapdoor, and you’re trapped upstairs, kneeling on the floor, desperately attempting to open the door. 

“No! No, you can’t do this to me, you just can’t-” Your dreamy bubble is popped harshly when you realize that it simply won’t budge. The sturdy wood kept you locked up tight. Tears pinprick your eyes. 

“Let me out!” You cry, pulling desperately at the handle, your hair falling in your eyes during your struggle. This isn’t happening – this can’t be happening! “You must let me out! You can’t keep me in here!” You hiccup a sob, not giving up on the door for a moment. 

It’s no use. 

You press your palms flat against the surface, panic washing through you. This could have been your way out of this wretched place! You could have started a new life with the lovely Zora who has done nothing but support you since you had first met him so long ago – he may truly want to marry you, and now he- 

He... 

He may never see you again. 

A few tears fall from your eyes, and you begin to cry, kneeling by the trapdoor. 

“Please, please...” 

You have to get out of here. 

*** 

Meanwhile, at the Zora domain... 

*** 

Sidon woke with a new type of exhaustion – one that lingered in his head, behind his eyes, and in his heart. He had been dreading going about his duties after last night, not knowing if he would be quite himself. And he did not want to bring the spirits of anyone else in the domain down with his current mood. 

That was quickly forgotten, however, when he had begun his journey to contact the hero of Hyrule, he had spotted a grand parchment, attached to one of the great columns that stood at the entrance to the domain. It read: 

"By decree of the king, every maiden who had attended the ball on the evening of the twenty-fourth is to open their doors for the king’s advisor on this day. 

The search for the beautiful young lady who had danced with the prince all the eve has begun – and the maiden who fits into the glass slipper left behind shall be the prince’s bride."

Sidon’s eyes widen, and he takes the paper in his hand as he reads further, growing more and more mortified with each word. 

His bride?! A declaration of love?! He had never gone to his father and told him a word of this! While it was true that you were someone he wished to love for the rest of his life, last night was likely the end of your story with him... Oh, he had to fix this somehow. At least try to talk some sense into him.

He hurried to his father’s throne room, still holding the paper as he came to a stop before him – he couldn’t be serious! 

“What is the meaning of this?” 

The king looks upon him with a tired sigh. 

“Now, Sidon... you know what last night’s purpose was.” 

“But a declaration of love to-” 

“Yes! I saw the way you looked at that girl – and I looked at your mother the same way. I saw that look in your sister whenever she looked at the Hylian champion.” He gives him a soft look, hoping to convince him that this situation was not as bad as he may have thought. “And after her slippery escape, this was the only way for us to find her.” 

Oh, but she must not want to be found! Y/n is a strong, capable, wonderful girl, and if she does not want to be found... 

“Oh, but i'm sure she had her reason for leaving so abruptly... so I think it would be best if...” it pained him to utter the words. “If we simply let her go.” 

The king looks at him with shock, sitting up straight. “Let her go?! Impossible, my boy. Impossible. Muzu is already out searching- and before you say it,” He raises a single finger when Sidon looks as though he wished to protest. “I cannot call of the search. I won't. And you’re not going anywhere. I need you here for when Muzu returns with the girl.” 

Sidon wished to cry out in frustration! To sink to the bottom of the river and never emerge again! To rid himself of the absolute mortification of Y/n reading this and thinking- oh, she must be so confused-!

He takes a deep breath, a death grip on the paper that he held as his side.

There's nothing to be done. His father's word outweighed his own, he knows that. To fight against the search for Y/n would only make things more difficult for himself and Y/n. He didn't want to cause any more strife...

He says nothing. He merely nods, having a difficult time meeting his father’s eye. His voice is strained as he finds the few words that he hoped would allow him a second to collect his thoughts. 

“There is work to be done – I'll be in the waters if you need me.” 

He then hurries out, to the cliffside stairs, down, down, down, where the quiet waters were interrupted by the occasional flow of a waterfall. 

He uses his skills to catch the fish and snails that had lingered by the banks before diving into the waters. 

There was nothing he could do for Y/n. Nothing he could do to possibly know where to find Muzu at the moment. For all he knows, he’s already arrived in Kakariko... 

He catches fish, making all the use of himself that he could before he was to face the girl he loved -- the girl he’d frightened and harmed so horribly. 

He struggles to think of anything else. 

*** 

Back in your room... 

*** 

You’ve been trying for what felt like far too long – and everyone else in the village was too preoccupied to hear your cries for help – were you too high up? Were you not loud enough? Oh, what did it matter? The only thing that DOES matter is that you get out of here! Knowing your stepmother, she would likely leave you locked in that room to starve. You couldn’t simply wait for help. 

But you’d tried everything on that door, and nothing was working. All you could do was try to shake the lock, and shout as loud as you could to be let out – that you were up there – anything! 

But not a soul heard you. 

Then you hear something outside – the sound of a trumpet. You rush to your window, hands against the glass as you look down to see the carriage belonging to the king’s advisor outside, and the advisor himself as well as another Zora, heading up the steps towards your home. But you couldn’t see them for long before they were out of sight again. 

“No!” You cry out, opening the window to call out. “I’m up here! Please!” 

No reply. 

It’s too late, you think, shutting your window again. It’s too far to jump, and the royal advisor is already here. 

You’re running out of time.


	6. Chapter 6

Cherik and Jamie stand in the window downstairs, watching as the royal advisor exits the coach, Maria and Abigail frantically running about, excitedly chattering among themselves that he had arrived, running to adjust their hair in a nearby mirror.

Cherik and Jamie share a look -- they know exactly what had happened. You'd gone off to the ball, and if anyone were to marry this prince they had been hearing so much about, it would be you! Now all they had to do was set you free...

The two watch as your wicked stepmother points two her two daughters. “Now listen to me you two,” She begins, standing at the door. “This is your last chance. Do not fail me.” 

If only Jamie or Cherik could swipe that key from her pocket! But... there was no way they would be able to get close enough. That key was staying put – and there isn’t any time to waste – they need help, and soon.

Plus, when they thought back to Mr. Hero finding them in their hiding spots, he used things like arrows to break pots, magic bombs to blow away rocks and leaves... tools, yes, but never a key. Maybe they should take a page from Mr. Hero's book!

When Lady Christina opens the door, Jaime and Cherik take the cue to sprint outside, quickly spotting an ax that had been lodged in a nearby stump. It was quite a large ax, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And they would do anything to help their kind friend.

The koroks call into the wind – and more of them arrive quickly. After a few chitters of explanation, the koroks manage to come together to free the blunt tool, carrying it over their heads as they walked across the dirt and to the side of the house.

It might have been a funny sight to the other people in the village – an ax floating to beneath your window. But your friends weren't concerned with that right now -- what they were concerned with was setting you free!

No matter what it took!

*** 

Muzu arrives on the doorstep, and the accompanying Zora announces his arrival, Lady Christina welcoming them. The home, he notes, is well-kept, and he makes a mental note to ask of any servants who may live there -- he did not want to miss a soul.

“May I present my daughters – Maria and Abigail.” 

The two curtsy, the horrid, clashing colors of their dresses nearly giving Muzu a headache. He couldn't look at them too long, not that he was complaining, because Abigail’s face is something horrendous as she attempts to be charming, greeting him with a “Your grace.” 

Muzu shudders. 

He tries not to look upon the young ladies again, his fellow Zora handing him the royal proclamation, which he begins to read aloud. 

*** 

Meanwhile, you, up in your room, can hear everything going on downstairs, and you can hear the Advisor reading aloud. What’s truly heartbreaking is that nobody can hear your desperate cries for help. 

You really, truly begin to lose hope, about to attempt to pick the lock with a deconstructed pen, when you hear a light tapping at your window. 

You turn to see your three bird friends, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, and rush towards the window,opening it carefully. 

“Thank goodness,” You cry, looking at the three of them desperately. “I need you three to either get the key from stepmother or I need you to find Link! Please!” 

But the birds simply fly downwards, and when your gaze follows them, you find... 

All of the koroks you’d befriended, stacked on top of one another, working together to lift an ax up to your window. 

You laugh a little. 

That should work. And while you may not be anywhere close to Link in terms of strength, you’re not about to simply lay down without trying. If you don’t find a way out, your stepmother will surely leave you up there to starve. 

You can hear a commotion downstairs – as well as Maria claiming “Why, that’s my slipper!” 

You feel a twinge of anger flare up in you, and you look back down at your korok friends, who were still working on lift the ax up to you.

Maria- oh, how awful she'd been to you all these years... and you were only a single person. If Sidon truly did not know that he had danced with you, would he be stuck with her instead? You wouldn't wish Maria upon your worst enemy -- let alone the Zora you care so much about. Not to mention all the people she would have power over...

“No!” You breathe, trying not to let your feelings get the best of you, but the thought of Maria abusing both the Zora prince and his subjects upset you greatly. You lean out the window slightly, reaching down towards the ax – your fingertips just barely graze it when- 

Yes! 

“Oh, thank you—all of you!” 

The koroks cheer as you grab hold and carefully lift it up and inside your room, laying it by the trapdoor as you quickly grabbed your papers on which you had written your book, and your glass slipper, placing them safely in the deep pockets of your dress. If you were truly to leave this place today, you didn’t care if Sidon ended up wanting someone else as his bride – even though you would be heartbroken, you’re still never coming back to this house. 

You can hear more of the conversation downstairs. 

“We must proceed with the fitting.” 

“Of course,” your stepmother agrees, continuing with, “Abigail?” 

No! No, they simply can’t do this to you! You’ve been mistreated and taken for granted for far too long to just let them get away with such an awful thing.

If by some wild chance the slipper had fit Abigail... oh, what a horrid fate would befall that kingdom. Abigail would whine about riches and material things, the most likely to push aside the needs of the people in favor of her own. She would leave them ill, wounded, miserable...

You can hear Abigail whining when she realized that the slipper was far from a perfect fit. 

“Why can’t you hold still a minute?!” 

Abigail’s shout is accompanied by the random clanging of piano keys, and you use the noise to disguise the harsh thud of the ax against the trapdoor. It makes a deep gash in the wood. A few more good whacks should knock the lock off and set you free! 

“The next young lady, please.” 

Oh, but you’re running out of time! If you didn’t get out soon, the Advisor would be gone and you’d be left here! And who’s to say that your slipper won’t fit another girl later in the day? It's a miracle it hadn't fit anyone else yet!

“Wait, please! Oh, please!” You call, brows knit as you hesitantly raised the ax. 

You can hear Maria shouting at the poor Zora downstairs. It’s no shock to you that the slipper hadn’t fit her either, and you use her shouting to disguise another harsh whack to the door. You can see a little bit of light filtering through the splintering cracks of the wood. Just one more should do it. 

“There!” 

“It fits!” Your stepmother cries happily, making you stop cold in your motions for a moment. Oh- oh, no, no, it couldn’t! 

You raise the ax a final time, and it embeds itself in the trapdoor, taking some effort to pull free – but you manage, and the lock on the door is broken. You hear another commotion as the slipper must fly off of her foot, caught by a Zora who sounded relieved. It had not fit either of your stepsisters.

You pull up the trapdoor as quick as a flash, and the words of everyone downstairs flow clearly to you now. 

“You are the only ladies of the household I hop- I presume?” 

“There’s no one else, your grace.” your stepmother lies. 

You quickly begin to make your way down the ladder as you hear the advisor bidding her a good day. 

“Your grace!” You call, rushing down. “Your grace!” You come to the bottom of the ladder, rushing out of the door, revealing yourself to everyone in the living room. “Please,” You breathe, relieved beyond belief that you caught him in time. “Wait! May I try it on?” 

You hear a commotion from your stepmother and stepsisters telling the advisor to pay you no mind – that you were simply the girl from the kitchen. The advisor takes a look at you and smiles. 

“She’s just an imaginative child.” Your stepmother stands between you and the Zora, but he extends an arm, moving past her. 

“Madam, my orders were ‘every maiden.’” 

You smile, and the Zora steps forward, offering his hand to you. “Come, my child,” You take his hand, and he leads you to a chair before beckoning for the slipper to be brought forth. 

The other Zora brings it forth, but as he’s walking, your cruel stepmother extends a cane she had been holding, effectively tripping them. The slipper goes flying from their grasp, and it shatters on the floor before you.

Once again, your step-family had shattered your dreams all along the living room floor.

The Zora before you looks down in shock and mild panic. You, however, quickly get up and rush forward, offering your arm to help up the Zora that your stepmother had tripped. He accepts your assistance, nodding in thanks. The advisor speaks quietly to himself behind you.

“Oh, oh what are we going to do? Oh, the king... the prince... they will be so, so disappointed...” 

You walk to the advisor. Your stepmother has a horrid smirk on her face. She’d broken the slipper, and the Zora before you was in despair. It seemed that you were out of chances -- but little did the cruel woman know...

“Well, perhaps, if it would help...” You reach into your pocket, standing beside the advisor. 

“No, no... nothing will help.” 

“But I... well, you see, I have the other slipper.” 

You pull it from your pocket, holding it carefully out for him to see.

The Zora looks relieved beyond belief, and he takes it carefully from you, examining it. And, lo and behold, the glimmering glass silent princess bloom on the front matched the other. 

You hear the cheering of the Koroks coming from the still-open front door, looking to see them happily hopping and tossing confetti, leaves, and petals about as the advisor kneels before you, and places the slipper on your foot. 

It’s a perfect fit. 

You’re so overjoyed that you don’t pay any mind at all to your stepfamily as the Zora announced proudly that it fits – you take it off once again, setting it gently back in your pocket and allowing the Zora to begin to lead you out of the house despite your stepsister’s protests. 

You pause for a moment, thinking for a brief moment about what you should do next, and decide quickly – before you even step out the front door. 

“Oh, your grace?” 

He looks to you. 

“May I have a moment? To say goodbye?” 

He nods. 

“Of course, dear child. Whatever you need.” 

He then continues to walk with the other Zora, patiently waiting on the dirt path for you. 

You look from Abigail, who had her arms crossed, crying, to Maria, whose shoulders were hunched as she glared at you, to your stepmother, whose cruel sneer could have frozen over hell. 

“You three have treated me terribly my whole life,” You begin. “Ever since I lost my father. And if he were here right now, he would tell me that to speak ill of other people, and to be unkind, would be bad karma.” You hold your head up high, looking to Abigail. "That i should be kind." You look to Maria. "That I should forgive." You look to the ringmaster of your years of abuse. “But my father’s not here,” You stare your stepmother dead in the eyes. “And you’re a bitch!” 

You turn to leave, but stop to half-turn back, looking at your stepmother again. 

“Oh, and Christina?” It was the first time you’d called her by an informal name. She glares at you with all the anger she can muster over everything – the disrespect, the fact that she had lost... But she cannot touch you anymore. You smirk, nodding towards the shards of broken glass that were still all over the floor. 

“Clean up this mess.”

You turn away, not looking back, knowing that finally, after everything you had gone through, it was finally over.

You were free.


	7. Chapter 7

The ride to the Zora Domain was full of comfortable chatter, and you arrived quickly. You had apologized to the advisor, whose name, you learned, was Muzu, about the fuss. You hadn’t meant to cause him and the other Zora so much trouble. 

He had assured you that it was fine – and that you were a kind and charming young lady. That was at least a bit of a relief.

The three of you exit the coach, and you’re walked to the same ballroom that you had danced in the night before. It’s just as beautiful in the daytime, the only difference being that it was lit up by natural sunlight that filtered in through the frosted windows. 

The king sat, spotting you quickly, a smile breaking out on his face. 

“Ah, so you have found her after all? You there- send for my son immediately!” He laughs heartily – and his voice is much less frightening then it had been when you last heard it. “It’s wonderful to meet you, my dear. I am King Dorephan.” He bows his head, and you curtsy, bowing your head as well – oh dear, you were in such awful rags before the king- you hoped he hadn’t thought any less of you because of that. 

“And it’s an honor to meet you, your highness!” 

You take a moment, holding your hands behind your back as you looked up at the King. “If I may, I would like to apologize for the trouble I have caused. It hadn’t been my intention at all, and I truly hope you can forgive me.” 

He looks surprised before he laughs again, shaking his head for a moment. “Nonsense, my girl! It’s truly no trouble. You were found, and that’s all that matters now.” He looks happily from you to another part of the room. “Ah, there he is- Sidon, my boy, come! This is your bride, is she not?” 

You turn to see Sidon, with a Zora on either side of him, looking at you with wide eyes. Your hands come to rest in front of you, and you wring your apron nervously. 

“...Hi, Sidon.” 

You blush and offer a soft smile, and he returns it – at least the ghost of one. What was the matter? Was he... 

Was he disappointed that it had been you? 

“Hello, Y/n.” 

His voice matches the softness of yours, and Sidon’s eyes leave yours to meet his father’s. “May we have a moment to ourselves?” 

“Of course! Anything for the happy couple! Muzu, we have much to do -- let us set to work on preparations for the wedding!” 

You feel your blush creep all the way to your ears, barely suppressing your nervous laughter as you quickly crossed the room to meet Sidon, who lead you out from where he had entered the room – the two of you don’t have to walk far before you come to a balcony overlooking the Zora Domain – the fresh air filled with the faint sound of children playing in the streets below. 

There’s a beat of silence, and you open your mouth to speak, but Sidon beats you to it – his words tumbling out nearly all at once. 

“Y/n, I would just like to say that I am deeply, truly sorry about last night – I hadn’t meant to upset you as I had- you're one of my dearest, most treasured friends, and no matter how you may feel about me now, that remains true. I understand if you would like to leave – you simply say the word and you will never be mixed in any of this again.” 

You stand, absolutely shell-shocked. He hadn’t looked you in the eyes the entire time he spoke, his nerves evident. He thought he had upset you? With a kiss? Oh- 

“Sidon, wh-” You place a hand on his arm, and he brings his eyes up from the balcony’s railing to meet yours. “What are you talking about? Upset me? No, you hadn’t! Quite the opposite! Here, have a seat with me, please.” 

The two of you rest on a silver bench, not taking your eyes off of one another for a moment. 

“Last night was... wonderful. Magical. Everything I could have ever wished for! Dancing with you, and sharing that kiss... well, it was one of the best moments of my life.” You try not to be too bashful as you admit it to him, and you hope you don’t look to silly with your warm cheeks. 

“Then- Then you weren’t frightened? Or upset?” 

You shake your head, and the two of you join hands, holding onto one another with the strongest tenderness you never thought possible. 

“Then why had you run away so abruptly?” It’s pure confusion on his face now instead of hurt and worry, and you’re happy to explain. You tell him about how a great fairy had given you your dress, your slippers, and your carriage to the ball, and how her magic would have disappeared at the stroke of midnight, and you’d only run away so you wouldn’t have been seen in your rags. 

“And then when my carriage turned back into a pumpkin, I had been left in a few bushes in my rags... and only the glass slipper had remained real. It was all I had...” You run your thumbs absentmindedly over his knuckles. “...Is her magic why you had not recognized me? I don't blame you -- I hardly recognized myself with how nice I had looked for once...” 

Sidon looks mildly offended. 

“Nice for once? Y/n, you are as radiant now as you had been last night – as you have been since the say we met. I don’t think magic could make you anymore breathtaking if it tried... I had known it was you – I had simply assumed I had upset you and wanted to save you the trouble of having to see me once more, let alone become tied into... well, all of this.”

Oh, it was such a relief to clear all of this up -- for both of you.

“Is that why you had never told me about the fact that you’re the prince of the Zora?” You smirk, and he knows that look – you're about to tease him. He can’t help but laugh a bit already. “Mr. Royal hotshot?” You both laugh, and he shakes his head, seeming to physically relax. 

“No, no, I... well, this is quite embarrassing to admit, but- and I should have told you, It was wrong of me to not tell you in the first place- but... oh, you were so frightened when we first met, and I did not want to intimidate you. Most who have met me put me on a pedestal, and to find someone who is... real, is so, so difficult sometimes. And you’re real and kind and beautiful and wonderful, and I-” He sighs, his eyes rising to meet yours. It makes your heart flutter. “I didn’t want to get you wrapped up in any royal nonsense. You had enough going on in your own home... I didn’t want to burden you. So I had lied-- about that, and about knowing who you were. I was only trying to protect you...”He hesitantly releases one of your hands and raises it to tenderly brush a few stray locks of hair from your eyes. “I suppose that was a bit misguided.” 

You laugh, a little breathless. 

“Sidon, your heart was in the right place, and I appreciate that you tried to look out for me as you had, but... you could never frighten me. I’ve been there for you in your times of anger and sadness and grief, I’ve been there for your laughter and your moments of joy, and now I’ve seen yet another side of you that is just as wonderful as all the others.” His hand had lingered, and you had placed your palm softly over the back of his hand, allowing him to cup your cheek ever-so-carefully. “I’m sorry you had been so afraid to tell me about all of this – though, I understand. I’m just sorry we had to clear things up in such a messy way... oh, and what a way to finally meet your father.” 

He can’t help but laugh, and you join him, wishing for nothing than to collapse and sleep after everything. 

The two of you sit in silence for a beat, breathing comfortably in the air for the first time that day. 

“Well, better strange circumstances than never.” He takes your hand in his once again, letting them fall to rest between you. 

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. So if this is where we are... what now?” 

A blush overtakes his cheeks as he sheepishly looks away from you, his mouth a thin line. “Well, uh- I w- I mean, we- oh, dear...” 

You barely contain your laughter at his embarrassment, but you manage. He muddles through his stuttering, taking a breath before straightening. 

“I suppose now it’s only appropriate that I ask you if you would do me the honor of- of allowing me to show you around the domain! And maybe, if you would like, I could treat you to dinner?” 

You smile brightly. “It’s a date, then.” 

“It’s a date.” He repeats brightly, his usual confidence back where it belonged – all over in his face and throughout his body language. “Then I- well, may I-” his eyes flick from yours to your lips, and back, the tenderness and hope never leaving them for a second. “May we,” He corrects, not getting the chance to finish his stuttering when you lean up, your unspoken consent given when your lips softly connected with his. 

He hums happily into the kiss, and you wrap your arms around his neck – his fall around your middle – and the two of you do not release one another from your embrace when your lips part, and you instead press your foreheads together, eyes closed, enjoying the warm sun on your skin and the feeling of being held by your love. 

“...What are we going to tell your father about all that wedding business, then?” You laugh, and so does he for a moment, raising his head to meet your eyes. 

“Well, you are not locked into any wedding, and I don’t want you to entertain that thought in your head for a moment. But I suppose for now we just...” 

“Make excuses?” You finish for him with a smirk at the silliness of the whole situation. 

“Exactly!” 

“Yes, I cannot this week because- oh, I’ve come down with a sickness.” Your mock-serious tone keeps the smile on his face, and he plays along. 

“Oh, yes! Of course! And wouldn't you know it, the next week I’ve fallen sick as well!” 

“And then after that, I’ve caught it again! You know how pesky those colds can be.” 

“Oh, without a doubt.” 

So the two of you are left there on the balcony, in one another’s arms, laughing at the silliest ways you could come up with not marrying one another – at least for now – the singing of the birds above put to shame by the sound of joy that true love brought below them.


	8. Chapter 8

A year had passed since that night at the ball, and you and Sidon had remained as close as ever, easily one of the happiest couples in all of Hyrule. 

That day you had been united had begun with him introducing you to people as the two of you had gone through the domain – after showing you where you were welcome to stay. It was a wonderful room – stocked with a bed big enough for at least five of you, and a closet full of clothes that were not in tatters. There is where you kept your writings and glass slipper – all you had come to the kingdom with – before heading on your way with your shark prince. 

He had said things as the two of you stopped at numerous Zora like “Please meet Y/n- yes, the one I told you about!” and “This is my dear friend Y/n -- I’ve told you of her writings before!” 

Everyone was so kind to you – and not a one had sneered at you or turned you away for being human. It was so... so refreshing. To be so welcomed and treated so kindly. 

The tour of the domain had ended with the both of you hungry, so you had done what had brought you together in the first place. You had fished together in the domain’s waters below, Sidon with his hands and you with a spear. It was as wonderful and carefree as though nothing had changed – and truly, nothing had. Except the sparks of romance between you had been kindled, burning brightly. Happily. 

The two of you lived your lives with one another by your side. It took you a while to adjust not rising at the crack of dawn and scrubbing the steps every morning, though it was easy to slip back into sleep now that you had a place to sleep that actually felt comfortable. 

Eventually you had been able to completely open up to him about what had happened the night of the ball – and the day after. It haunted you in quite a few ways. It had been a relief to get it off of your chest. So you had told him what your stepmother and stepsisters had done. Destroyed your dress, struck you, left you lock in your room while they executed a wicked plan... and by the time you had finished, Sidon looked furious – appalled! 

He had insisted – insisted, that he head straight there and tell them what-for! Not a soul should be treated that way – especially not the woman he loves! He had let that slip, and you were a blushing mess as you held onto his arm as he began to march from the room, set on- well, something. It must have looked hilarious – little tiny you holding onto his arm, your feet sliding across the floor as you attempted to dig your heels into it, insisting you were fine! After a brief moment, he stopped at your command, and when you talked him down, he had sat before you, a little embarrassed that he had, quote, “gotten so worked up.” but in truth, he hadn’t upset you in the slightest. It was endearing that he felt such a strong need to protect you. 

You had thanked him for being so protective as he vowed to never let any treatment like that befall you ever again, telling him that you love him, too. 

Meanwhile, you had published your book in the domain, and it was well-loved, to your shock! Sidon hadn’t been lying when he said that his people were looking forward to reading it- and copies were continuing to sell outside of the domain as well. You’d even spotted someone reading it outside a stable on one of your ventures! Oh, how your heart had soared. And when you expressed a want to write more books, Sidon’s face lit up, and he set out for enough paper and pens to last you a lifetime, encouraging you to use your talents to tell more wonderful stories – those were his words. 

And now, a year later, you and Sidon had mutually decided to stop making excuses to the king about marriage. Though he wasn’t a fool, he had allowed you both to get away with putting it off. 

But then the both of you were ready. 

After the decision was made, dressmakers and cake-bakers and countless others flooded the both of you, and it wasn’t long until the preparations had been completed, the king overjoyed.

The wedding had taken place in the very grand room that the ball had – silent princess blooms made up long garlands that hung from the ceiling, the pink and orange light of the fading sun filling the room full of guests through frosted windows. 

Sidon had been standing at the end of the aisle as you had been announced, a hand coming up to cover his mouth as his eyes fell on you. 

Your dress fit you perfectly, the white seeming to glow slightly as you stepped into the room, blushing at all the eyes on you. Your bouquet was made up of the same flowers that hung from the ceiling – the same ones that were in your hair, a long veil that hung like a silent waterfall trailing behind you. 

When you had reached the end of the aisle, you realized that both you and Sidon had shed a few tears. He thought he had gotten used to seeing you so happy – to seeing the glow of life in your eyes and actions. But you continued to astound him every single day. And the day you wed had been no exception. 

“My love,” His vows had begun, “I have long awaited this day. Ever since we had met by our riverbank that fateful day, I had known that you would change my life in extraordinary ways. And oh, to say you have is an understatement.” He laughs a little, wiping a tear from your cheek as he fought off his own. “You are supportive, kind, breathtaking, and all- around my most treasured friend and companion. Y/n, I promise to honor and respect you, to treasure and protect you, and love you for the rest of my days. I could not imagine my life without you. I love you. More than you may ever know.” 

It took all of you not to begin to blubber right there in front of all of Hyrule, but you had managed to squeak out the vows that you had written as well. 

“Sidon,” you blink away your tears, smiling up at him. “My father told me long ago that he would look after me before he departed to sit by the side of the goddess – and I believe that you are a blessing he had sent. Your kindness given to me had very well saved my life, and I- I cannot thank you enough. You are kind, considerate, just, brilliant, and the light of my life. Sidon... I promise to honor and respect you, to treasure and protect you, and love you,” You squeeze his hands, your heart aglow as he smiles softly at you. “For the rest of my days. You are my beacon of hope. You are living proof that dreams come true, and I love you. I love you so, so much.” 

Even Link, who had been both Sidon’s best man and your only “bridesmaid” had cried at that, silently wiping away his tears with a handkerchief that a korok had thrown down from where they were perched high up by the ceiling. 

The priest spoke behind you, looking happily between you both. 

“Prince Sidon,” Sidon straightens, not taking his eyes from you for a second. “Do you take this human to be your wedded wife, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, through the good times and the bad?” 

“I do.” 

“And Lady Y/n,” Your heart leaps in your chest, and you can barely contain yourself – you almost bounce on your heels with excitement. “Do you take this Zora to be your wedded husband, to have and to hold in sickness and in health, through the good times and the bad?” 

You nod as you answer. “I do.” 

“Then by the power vested in me by the goddess, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!” 

You throw your arms around his neck as he takes you in his, kissing you with a tenderness that was so full of love it takes your very breath away, parting to walk back down the aisle through the cheering crowd, your korok friends throwing countless colorful flower blooms, petals, and leaves. 

The two of you had wed in the fading sunshine that shone upon the domain – and you happily made your way from the room that had started it all, starting your lives together as one – which brings our story to where you are today. 

*** 

You’re hauling fish in a bag on your back, happily making your way through the domain to the shops, where you liked to contribute fish from far- off rivers and streams. You often rode your horse to and from distant parts of Hylia, helping in keeping the peace in the lands as the princess of the Zora. 

“Good evening, princess!” The shopkeep had greeted, happily accepting the hearty salmon from you. 

“Good evening!” 

“Getting home a bit late, aren’t you?” She teases, getting a laugh from you. 

“Well,” You shrug, your light armor you wore feeling a little lighter now that you didn’t have to haul those fish – though you do still have a few for you and Sidon. “You know how it goes with those pesky Keese.” 

She nods, setting the fish on the counter. “Oh, I do. Thank you for the fish, dear – I sincerely cannot thank you enough.” 

You begin to exit the shop, giving the keeper a wave. “Anytime! I should have some Hylian rice by tomorrow!” 

“I’ll see you then!” 

You give the keeper a final wave before heading home – the journey is quick now that you’ve leaned the pathways of the domain. 

When you enter your home, you immediately remove your Zora armor hood, huffing with a bit of exhaustion. 

“Darling?” Sidon calls from another room, quickly making himself visible, smiling as he spots you. “Welcome home!” You move past him, giving him a kiss before setting your catch away – even after all this time, it’s still jarring to come back to a clean home, without a chore in sight to complete. 

“How was your day?” You ask, wrapping your arms around him as you looked up at him. 

“It was well! The mapping of the shrines went well, and we have a plan to take care of that pesky lynel – It should be gone by morning.” 

The both of you move from the kitchen to the main room, where the both of you could finally relax on the couch after a long day. 

“You be careful now, alright?” Concern laces your voice as he sits down, and you climb into his lap and into his embrace, resting your head in the crook of his neck. 

“Of course, my love.” He kisses your forehead, holding you in his strong embrace, the safest you’ve ever felt. 

“I can assist if you need me, you know.” You raise your head to look at him, and he smiles a little. You weren’t one to particularly enjoy violence – you preferred caring for the people of the domain. You enjoyed looking after the Zora and their children, fishing and gathering, guiding people when they needed it. It’s not that you couldn’t fight, Sidon has no doubt that you can – but he still isn’t fond of the idea of you going up against a lynel that was larger than HE was. 

But the determination on your face held a certain fire in your eyes, and that paired with how little and kind you were was just so- 

“Cute,” Sidon hadn’t meant to mutter that out loud, but a look of mock-offence came over your face anyway. 

“Cute? I am not,” You laugh, denying it, a smile spreading over Sidon’s face. Oh no- 

“Oh, yes you are! You’re simply adorable,” He teases, holding you closer. You can’t help but laugh and try to squirm away, but it’s no use. He kisses your cheek. “So cute,” You laugh, pushing at his shoulders playfully. 

He continues to tease you, the both of you laughing as he peppers kisses across your face, remaining wrapped up in one another the entire time.

It was true that things had been tough and bleak in the beginning – but if you had given up, your path of life would not have lead you to such warmth and happiness. And Sidon knows that – and he’s proud of you every single day. 

The goddess smiles upon you both. 

And you live happily ever after. 

The end.


End file.
